Cake, Cards, Chocolate, and Cigarettes
by Minikimii
Summary: Meeting Panda meant alot to him. In some ways, the quirky detective was still the boy's best friend. Matt-centric, Yaoi. Eventual MattxMello. [Discontinued]
1. Chance Encounter

Disclaimer: Death Note belongs to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.  
This is a semi-spinoff of L's Diary. I'm writing this out so that you won't have to read L's Diary to understand this, seeing as how this fic is the equivalent of being the Diary's younger sibling. I'm already in love with this story more than I am with L's Diary, so those of you who've read the first fic are in for a real treat. Plot blindspots, prepare to be seen!!

* * *

**Cake, Cards, Chocolate, and Cigarettes  
**Chance Encounter

Another cough. The tunnel here sure is stuffy. Didn't anyone ever bother cleaning out the hallway here? After all, there was a mass of computer equipment here and every once in a while ('a while' being once a year or so), he would see the wires of the room rearranged. Sometimes the equipment would be upgraded and turned on. Of course, he would never really see anything happen. He assumed the changes went on while he was in class. Better for whoever it was who lived in this space anyways.

It wasn't his space, but for the time being, he liked to think of it that way. Nothing indicated any sort of life being present in the area for the last half year, other than the occasional insect that found its way into the more than humble abode. The wires and bland-looking bed were gathering dust now, so today he had brought a bottle of water and a half-empty roll of paper towels with him. Even if no one lived in this place anymore, he could at least clean it up for all the other times he would be coming back. A hideout like this wasn't something you'd just find and drop. It also wasn't something he could share with just anyone. He mentioned it to his best friend once, but when he'd denied the other boy entrance, the blond had lost all interest. 'What good is a hideout if you 're hiding by yourself' he'd replied nonchalantly, biting into another bar of chocolate. It had never been brought up again.

He wriggled the last half of his body out of the crawl space, coughing slightly as he landed. The cool wooden floors thudded against his body as gravity pulled his rear and the shiny dead tree planks together. Strange, his eyes weren't tearing up like they normally did when the dust lifted off the ground and into his eyes and his red hair.

Wait. Said dust was missing. The room had been cleaned.

He scrambled up from his sprawled position on the floor to see a strange man in his twenties with raven-black hair and obsidian eyes. A white long-sleeved shirt and baggy, worn jeans: simple attire for a simple man? But this guy could not have been a simple man. This was a secret room that only he knew about.

Kind of. That would mean the equipment in this room belonged to this bland-looking stranger. Who was he and why was he suddenly here? Only individuals carrying a special, unmarked key card could gain access to the grounds. It was difficult enough to obtain a card and to get through the security checkpoint along with a retina scan to even enter the House was a nightmare, especially if you were an adult. That electric fence was meant to keep the intruders out. For some special cases, it was meant to keep the children in. But no one in his or her right mind would voluntarily leave this place. The interior was too comfortable to be left. The playing grounds themselves stretched at a maximum of two miles in every direction and had courts for nearly every sport available in its lush fields.

It was a Sunday and that meant most of the kids at the House were playing outside and the adults were watching them. Few children stayed indoors on Sundays, seeing how the older they got, the less time they had to spend with Mother Nature. It was the House rules. You hit twelve and you're required to pick a specialty. Most kids' special talents had already begun to blossom at that age. Once you're fourteen, it's finalized and you start learning the ropes. He'd started learning the ropes. Well, more like codes. Technology was his thing.

Reaching the end of the tunnel, he sat down at the entrance to the room and began unlacing his shoes. Although it was unnecessary to wear shoes around the House, people generally did until they were going outside. He hated the feeling of shoes constricting his feet, but he loved playing outside too much with Mello to ever complain.

"Who might you be?"

His back stiffened when he heard the voice address him. It was surprisingly kind with a hint of boredom in its undertone. Afraid to look up from his position on the floor, he was unsure of what to do. Why hadn't he tried to get away? Oh wait. He couldn't. This was a secret chamber behind the Northern clock tower. If he screamed, no one would hear him. It was pointless.

"I-I'm... a st-student here," he stammered, the urge to flee increasing with each passing moment.

Daring a glance up provided him with a clear view of the older man. Eyes: the window to the soul. Those always caught his attention on every person he'd ever met. This man's tired, panda-like eyes were probably a by-product of insomnia. Those long, slender fingers looked like they belonged to the hands of a pianist. That might explain the electric keyboard hooked up to the computer.

His gaze dropped quickly and he resumed staring at the floor in silence.

"Wise answer."

He heard a chuckle from the man across the room and the shifting of settling sheets in the bed. The slight creaking of the wooden floorboards made it safe to assume that the man had had seated himself on the mattress.

_Who is this guy? And why is he here? What the hell is going on? Augh, idiot, you know what's going on. He lives in this space, even though it's been empty for half a year now with no clues about the lifestyle or personality of the former inhabitant, too, other than the computers here and the wires. I can't even hack the computers here... Do I smell strawberries and cake?!_

" I did not recall this mattress to be quite so comfortable," he heard from the direction of the stranger, the voice putting his thoughts on mute. "May I ask why you are here?"

"I c-came to clean," he explained, hastily pulling the paper towel roll and water bottle from his small backpack, displaying them and the rest of the contents of his bag to the older man.

Obviously, the water bottle and towels were already out in the open, but inside the bag were his usual gaming accessories, three slightly smashed granola bars, a handful of peppermints, and a handmade pillow for his rear when he sat on the wooden floor. Did he say he thought of this place as his earlier? No, he meant that it was his secret, not his living space. He didn't dare to tamper with the things in this room. He'd seen enough from his video game plot lines to know that flicking random switches and sporadically pulling wires usually ended badly.

The mysterious man merely nodded and smiled, bringing his knees to his chest and resting his hands atop them. He noticed the stranger's feet were bare and quite clean looking. He shifted his eyes around the room, flitting his line of vision around quickly as he searched for shoes. There were none, but the was a small basin of what looked like water that had been heated on a scientific heating plate/pan thing (his blond bestie knew more about that scientific mumbo-jumbo than he did). A gray rag was draped along the edge of the metal bowl and was accompanied by bar of soap precariously balanced there. A set of three towels was inconspicuously set atop a low table-_thing_ in the adjacent corner.

"Do you come here often?"

"Y-yeah, I suppose... most of the night on Saturdays and all morning Sunday..."

_And whenever **he's** studying in the Library and doesn't want to be bothered... Heh. I just told the guy I skip my some of my classes. Will I get in trouble for this? Well, whatever. They're just review anyway. And why is my voice shaking so badly? I'm never this nervous..._

A soft rhythmic thud sounded long the floor. The stranger was taking steps toward him. His heart leapt to his throat in panic, but he swallowed the rising dread and set a look of perfect calm on his face. The steps stopped and he saw the man's toes from his peripheral vision, jean-clothed knees bending as the stranger was lowered to his level. He pointed at a black, rectangular cartridge that had slipped out of his game pack.

"May I?"

The redhead simply nodded, not seeing how this man could possibly harm his games. He relaxed a bit as he watched the childish smile spread across the stranger's face as he inspected the game cartridge. Recognition flickered in the older man's eyes.

"Hmm... 'Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones' is an excellent choice. I see you like strategy games. Have you tried playing Ephraim's Story on Hard Mode yet?"

A fresh grin spread across his face. Almost no one had heard of this game before and here was a perfect stranger he had met on the other side of the entry room crawl space tunnel asking him about Fire Emblem! Did he just die and go to his own personal Gamer Heaven? If so, God was a Panda Man. God was a fucking panda.

"No, I'm working on my third run-through of Eirika's Story on Hard More right now," he grinned, "I'm trying to unlock as many supports as possible before I try Ephraim's on Hard Mode. Chapter eleven was a bitch with the fog and everything in the way... That _was _chapter eleven, right?"

He could feel the bubbles of excitement in his chest as he watched the other man part his lips to respond. Vague thoughts fluttered in the back of his mind, simultaneously demanding why he wasn't trying to run away from the black-haired man. He shoved those insecurities inside a glass jar and into a dark box in the back of his mind.

"I cannot recall specifics. It has been far too long since I have played Eirika's Story. Ephraim's much more enjoyable to me. Eirika's character is too static and flat for my taste."

"Static and flat? I guess I'm not the only one who thinks that she's boring. Seriously, a guy can only take so much whining and worrying before he wants to bash her face in and switch to Ephraim's story. Too bad you can't kill her off... seriously, other units dies and the game's like 'oh, look at that. He kicked the bucket... oh well!' and just continues. But then your main Lord dies and it's just like 'blah, you epic fail at life and we're sending you back to the beginning of the chapter, fucktard! Oh, by the way, this death is being recorded against you on the game, so your ranking is now Y, because you're too much of a retard to be able to fail to Z ranking. See? You even suck at failing-' "

Suddenly he cut himself off. Did he just go on a gamer-rant in front of a total stranger? Well, shit.

"That is a rather well-argued point, but for someone on their third run through of Eirika's Hard Mode, I would imagine that you would not allow such needless deaths to occur... your game?" he ended with a question, holding out the cartridge between pinched fingers.

_Man, this guy's sharp._

His attention turned on full blast and he took the plastic rectangle from the stranger and pulled open his Gameboy SP. Silver and decorated with vine-like sharpie designs. He liked the way the shine looked, but the decoration was what made the console his. With the little albino boy's stalker artist girl around all the time, he had finally decided to warm up to her and asked her if she'd mind decorating his SP. Of course, his bestie had nearly blown a gasket when he found out who had decorated the hand held, but that wasn't so important. The swirling vines and leaves done with fine-point sharpie would be worth a lot one day. Not that he'd sell it. Heh. Sweatdrop.

"Yeah, I lent the game to my best friend. He thought the characters were dispensable, the idiot..."

A grin formed upon his lips at the memory of the blond suddenly jumping up from his bed and screaming, 'what the _fuck_, where'd all my units go?!' It had been adorable, to say the least. But he wouldn't have told the blond that he found the response cute. That would be suicidal.

"Your best friend?" the stranger asked, biting his thumbnail in a contemplative fashion.

"Yeah," he sighed, "Mr. Chocolate and Flames."

Panda Man raised an inquisitorial eyebrow. Amusement perhaps?

"Interesting nickname."

"Yeah, it suits him though," he chirped, grinning from ear to ear, "he's completely addicted to chocolate and fire, obviously. It's ridiculous how he obsesses over the small things too, always studying to beat albino boy and all."

At the mention of another name, an inquisitorial look crossed the stranger's face.

" 'Albino boy?' "

"White hair, white shirt, white pants, white skin... the White One. Top kid here," the redhead supplied casually, "don't you know? I mean, you are in the House right now, so I'd assume... wait a sec! Who the fuck are you?!"

It was generally understood that anyone who visited the grounds of he House was someone of high importance who could be trusted. The redhead was unsure if the usual feelings of safety could apply when he met a stranger in the House grounds inside a secret room.

_I've been talking to this guy for a little over half an hour now and I don't know who the heck he is. I can just see it on the news: 'Gamer boy's body found dead in room past the hidden crawlspace.' Lovely. Stranger Danger programs aren't worth shit if they can't help me now. For all I know, he could be some mass murderer or child rapist. Or worse. A newb._

He stopped and chuckled, the last of his thoughts alleviating his fears. There was no way a guy could just get into the House. That was simply unheard of.

"Children your age should not be using that kind of language."

The redhead crossed his arms and huffed over to the bed, plopping down beside the stranger and shoving the game cartridge into the silver SP. He flicked the switch in the lower right-hand side of the handheld. The screen instantly brightened to life, the word "GAMEBOY" popping onto the screen in a rainbow that quickly flashed to dark blue. The volume switch had been bumped to full blast, a clear C ringing in his ears as the opening tune sang its last note through the tiny speaker**(1)**.

"You didn't answer my question."

"My identity must remain a secret for safety purposes. It is up to you whether or not you would like to tell me who you are. Besides, you seem to be a smart child, so I am sure you will figure out exactly who it is you have been speaking with eventually."

Cryptic messages didn't sit well with him, but choosing to ignore the comment was the best course of action. He didn't usually like doing this, but in the long run, he'd come to appreciate his choice of reaction.

"Ok, well whatever," he sighed, turning the game's noise level off to conserve battery power, "I have other questions. Do you wanna answer those?"

"My willingness to answer depends on the question, but feel free to ask me anything."

He tapped away at the SP, eyebrows furrowing in concentration.

_Who goes into this chapter? Have to recruit Syrene, so... Ephraim? No, wait, could Eirika can recruit Syrene too, right? Maybe it's only Ephraim... But Tana said she learned how to be a Peg Knight from Syrene, so maybe Tana can... Gah! Screw that, I'm bringing Eph. I need that last Support with Tana anyway. Eww... hetero couples. Eww... hetero sex!_

He chuckled immaturely, licking his lips. A few moments passed as he readied his game by tapping away at the black buttons. The stranger leaned over his shoulder and cocked his head toward the gamer's. He could feel the hot breath on his neck.

"Are you going to ask me a question or shall I sit here and watch Marissa beat those four enemy units in four hits? Oh, and you should not place Artur in that position. He cannot cross streams."

"I have Artur there because I'm healing Marissa this turn. Ross will be taking his place soon," he sighed, "anyways, first question: what are you doing here?"

Out of his peripheral vision, he watched Panda Man turn his face toward the ceiling, left thumbnail being nibbled by his teeth while his face suddenly was void of curiosity in the handheld game. Well, void of anything really. His expression was neutral.

After fiddling with the blanket that was folded up at the foot of the bed, the man reached toward the box on the table and lifted the lid. The smell of strawberries assaulted his nostrils. Was that chocolate, too? Mr. Chocolates and Flames would've liked that. From the box, the stranger lifted a single decorative slice of cake and set it on a small plate that must have been lifted out of the small cabinet in the far corner of the room. With pinched fingers, the man carefully picked the clear plastic wrapping from the edge of the cake and folded it neatly. The decorative gold lines glimmered and the white crème on the slice looked like pool water solidified from the light that filtered through the single stained glass window. Chartres blue. Almost. He'd seen pictures of the Gothic cathedral in the library when albino boy's stalker had followed him there to study old French architecture. For a young artist, that girl sure was an avid learner.

"This is my hiding spot for when I want to get away for extended periods of time," Panda Man explained.

"From what?"

"Work."

"Work," he repeated, "that's very specific."

"Work," the stranger stated again, not wanting to share more information, "would you like some cake?"

"Well, I suppose you may be able to extract more information from me eventually. For now, if you may ask me of anything pertaining to personal matters, my lips are sealed."

The redhead frowned and turned off his game. Good thing Fire Emblem had the auto save feature.

The stranger set the plate holding second slice of cake on the table, leaving it in front of the redhead. From somewhere within the box, he produced a two miniature plastic utensils. One was set beside the second cake and the other was put into good use as the Panda Man began picking away at his cake. A single strawberry was set aside gently with the tiny plastic fork, unpunctured. Either the man didn't want to eat it or he was saving it for last. Gamer boy decided he would stick around to see.

"So I'm supposed to just sit here with a complete stranger who wants to remain a complete stranger?"

Panda Man stopped picking at his cake and raised an eyebrow.

"You could leave."

"No, I think I'll take the cake," he answered, picking up the small plastic utensil.

Just as he was about to try out the cake (but not before considering that it might be drugged), he stiffened. He turned to Panda Man and began to watch him eat. He could feel the stranger's dark eyes watching him. Somehow, it was no longer uncomfortable to be here.

"Hey, I have my next question for you."

Panda Man looked up from his slice.

"Yes?"

The redhead gave him a questioning look and held up the tiny white plastic utensil in his hand.

"Why am I eating cake with a mini spork?"

"Because..." Panda Man trailed, biting his thumbnail once more and looking toward the ceiling, "sporks build character."

"What?" he felt his head physically twitch back in surprise, "how?"

"You have to learn how to use a hybrid utensil and by the process of doing that teaches you what kind of person you are. Do you reject or welcome new things or do you like trying to solve a traditional puzzle with a new and unconventional method?," he drawled, finally tacking on with a wide grin, "and most important of all... you get to use a mini spork because I did not have anything else to offer to you. Consider this a gift from me, for in a sense, I am helping you build character."

Panda Man had held a serious expression through the entire explanation when a carefree smile suddenly sprung about his lips. The redhead took a deep breath and broke out into a wide, uncontainable grin. Panda Man had a strange sense of humor and logic. He was really beginning to like this guy.

- -

The sun was gone now, but neither of them had noticed. Unrippling blue no longer washed over the two figures sitting on the bed. One had his knees pulled to his chest, the other was perched in a unique position that seemed awkwardly comfortable. The room itself had been tidied up a bit more, mostly by the redhead who had gotten permission to touch the machinery that was inside the room. The smaller bottle of water he had carried into the room had been put to good use. The paper towels had been disposed of in the wastebasket by the fridge. As if it would make him seem less useful, Panda Man took it upon himself to take care of the cake box by storing it inside the small refrigerator adjacent to the entrance of the room. Well, some help was better than none. The teen had only cared about the dust.

"Now that we're done cleaning, mind if you tell me more about yourself?"

"My apologies, but my lips shall remained sealed."

The redhead sighed. Time and time again, he had tried asking the man about himself, but no question ever warranted his desired response. However, he found that in just simple, casual conversation (as opposed to the question and answer session he had started a couple hours ago) Panda Man was more willing to give information about himself. He had resolved to simply talk to the man, but that didn't stop the direct questions. He wasn't much of a talker, but he could rise to the occasion when it was necessary.

Normally, his conversations with others were ones of caution. He took care with the words he chose when he was with his peers and his teachers. Language became more lax when he was with strangers or adults other then his teachers at the House. That didn't happen often, but when he was away from the House, the brighter than average citizen was charmed away by his aloof personality while the arrogant were shocked and appalled into silent anger. Actually, most people only reacted with silent anger. Idiots didn't understand.

_Rambling in my thoughts again and I'm supposed to be speaking with Panda here. _

"Well, whatever," he continued, scratching his head and laying down on the mattress with his arms spread out to his sides, "I'm tired, so let's just talk."

"What would you like to converse about?"

The redhead rolled over onto his side and grabbed the ass pillow he'd brought with him, hugging it close to his chest. No, it didn't smell like ass. 'Ass pillow' meant that he just sat on in a lot. You would too if the wooden floors of a hidden room gave you back problems and ass bruises.

"Do you have any questions for me?" he asked the stranger, absentmindedly nibbling his bottom lip and fiddling with the hem of his striped, black and gray shirt.

He had a thing for striped shirts, alright? He had a white and black one, a black and red one, a red and white one, a gray and red one, this gray and black one, a gray and white one... Okay, he liked those four colors. So what? It wasn't so bad when he layered it under one of his vests or sleeveless jacket things. Yeah. Fashion wasn't really his thing.

He watched Panda look at the ceiling once more while and chewed his thumbnail for the umpteenth time in the last three hours.

_It's like a Panda Stance,_ he thought, chuckling silently, _Panda Man has a Panda Stance._

"Would you like to tell me about your friends?"

Those baggy eyes met his once more and his thoughts hesitated.

Huffing, sighing, and turning once more, images of his blond bestie popped into his head. Maybe it was time he shared a bit about his personal life with this guy. Maybe that would get Panda to finally open up to him.

"I mostly have only one 'friend,' " the redhead began, "his name is Near. Completely obsessed with puzzles and toys."

"What does he look like?"

Interest was evident in his voice. The redhead supposed that the interest sprouted from being such a recluse. Panda didn't seem to get out much, if the pale skin and awkward mannerisms were any indication. An idiot could have picked up that much... ok, maybe not. He'd met some pretty stupid people out there before.

"He's the top kid here. The white, pajama-like clothes and the matching hair. He likes curling his hair allot with his right hand when he's doing his puzzles and usually pulls it to the point where it looks like it's been done by a girl. He actually has naturally straight, but slightly wavy hair. I told you about already, didn't I?"

"Yes, but that description was before we had become comfortable with one another's presence, therefore regathering this information could be crucial," the stranger explained. "Although you spoke of him in an affectionate manner, Near is not the best friend you mentioned earlier. The boy who liked chocolates is. Would you like to tell me about your real best friend?" Panda asked, cocking his head to the side.

_This guy isn't normal. Most people think Near's my best friend when I describe him like that. Of course, I wasn't counting on him actually remembering what I said earlier, but... This man can read people. He can remember small rambling details from a teenager and he's definitely smarter than normal._

"Well... alright," he confirmed, "Near's only my friend. Actually, you could kinda consider him to be my only friend."

"Would your best friend happen to be the blond you mentioned earlier?"

"Yes," the redhead murmured, "but my best friend actually can't really be considered my 'best friend.' He's something... different."

His eyes widened with shock. What had possessed him to say those words? Swearing to himself that he'd never tell a single soul about the feelings he had for his best friend when he came to terms that with the fact that his growing attraction to the blond was more than just teenage hormones certainly held up well. He had never imagined even telling someone about the way he felt about the chocolate-lover. Fingertips at his lips silenced him long enough to feel his eyes begin to water, but stopped the feeling before it scared him too much to think.

" 'Different,' you say?"

"Y-yes..." he stammered, losing all the cocky self-confidence he had gathered the few hours previous.

"What kind of different?"

Interest colored Panda Man's entire being.

"He's more important than a friend to me. More... special."

He blushed slightly when he saw the knowing look seep through Panda's features. The man nodded and turned his gaze back to the ceiling.

"So what is he like?"

The redhead grinned, kicking up his feet from his laying position of the bed and swinging his body to sit upright. He rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together. Should he tell Panda his bestie's name? Hesitating wasn't doing him any good.

_Whatever. It's okay if he knows. It's always easier to tell a complete stranger about your problems anyway._

"His name is Mello," the redhead said, taking in a deep breath, "and he's my best friend."

"Go on?"

The encouraging look in the stranger's eyes made him soften. This one would listen.

"Well, to start with, he's got blond hair down to his chin. It's so soft and silky and looks kind of like liquid gold... I jokingly messed it up it once when we were still just starting as friends," he laughed, "Mello just swatted my hand away. His scowls are always so cute... Of course, he doesn't really care now," he grinned, "I'm the only one Mello lets touch his hair.

"Anyways, he's always wearing black, kinda opposite of Near. He hates Near, too, for being so smart. Personally, I think they're both equal, but he doesn't like seeing it that way. He thinks that being number two just isn't good enough. I wish I could do something for him, but he's too headstrong to let me. He's got this strong sense of honor, so he won't ever hurt Near in any way. It's admirable... and still kinda cute somehow."

He smiled softly and closed his eyes.

"He always smells like chocolate too. I love it. When we take our trip to the streets every two months, he always buys a bunch of chocolate while I buy games. I don't know how he keeps from getting fat, but I swear all the sugar he consumes could feed ten other kids for the same amount of time. All I buy are peppermints and I'm still careful with how many I eat.

"He's cute when I sneak up on him from behind. Like when I get to hug him across his shoulders and snuggle into his hair... I don't know how he does it, but he smells like chocolate mixed with... something. It's kind of sweet and almost floral, but still kinda boyish at the same time... I just really love the way he smells, I guess."

He stretched back out onto the bed and curled up sideways, holding the pillow to him as if it were Mello. Panda just turned toward him and smiled.

"Do you know if he likes you?" the stranger asked.

He could feel his eyes sadden.

"No," he frowned, "I'm sure Mello's straight. I mean... well, he's probably asexual at best. He's always in the library, studying up to beat Near and all. Sometimes, when I'm right in front of him, I don't think he even sees me."

He let himself sigh loudly, feeling the air push out of his chest deeply and his throat tighten slightly. Pure sugar assaulted his nostrils with every filtered breath he took from the pillow. It was sweet, but nothing like Mello. Panda must eat alot of sugar.

The stranger said nothing as he leaned back and fell against the wall, breaking his Panda Stance for the first time in hours. The man grabbed the second pillow on the bed and looked to the lamp he had turned on, lips down turned to match the redhead's hidden ones.

"I do not like artificial light."

He blinked.

"What?" the redhead asked, his face not leaving the pillow.

"I do not like artificial light. Technology is useful, but I much rather prefer candlelight at night. It is much more soothing and generally enjoyable to me."

Ripples of movement traveled through the mattress as the teen felt Panda get up off the bed. There was the hollow sound of a plastic-bottomed, wooden drawer sliding open and the gamer realized Panda was looking for candles and a lighter. The lighter was found quickly and slipped into his right pocket. Three votives (orange, cream, and white respectively) were soon selected and pulled out from the drawer along with three identical spherical candleholders. Panda man held the three glass holders in his left hand and three candles in his right and shut the drawer with his elbow. Shuffling quickly to the table beside the bed, he set the candles down and proceeded to unwrap them from their plastic. A fruit and vanilla medley scent filled the room even before the candles were lit. It was pleasant, but slightly overwhelming.

The teen smiled when he realized that Panda had taken out the candles to distract him. For someone he'd only known for a mere six hours, Panda sure was welcoming.

Six hours was really a long time, but the gamer blocked out the fact that he had been gone way past bed time. The House was pretty lax about where the kids slept, as long as the late-night rooms visits were kept strictly single-gendered. Homosexuality didn't exactly cross their minds when they made the rules. Of course, the real thing they were trying to avoid was pregnancy. Experimenting during the teen years was normal and most teachers chose to ignore it. At the House, the intelligence of various teachers was often paired with tolerance or straight up indifference.

He watched Panda flick the lighter open, letting the small, clear in the center flame touch to the wicks of the three votives.

"Do you mind if I turned off the lights?"

"No."

He settled into the bed, burying the right half of his face into the pillow while watching the candles with his left eye. The wax of each candle melted quickly, pooling around the wick in clear, colored bubble of beauty. Panda joined him on the bed, leaning his body against the wall and pulling his legs to his chest. He divided his attention between the melting candles and watching the stranger curl and uncurl his toes in the bed sheets. Eventually, he settled for just watching the candle burn. Watching liquid wax slowly dripping down the sides of the solid block really did have a calming effect.

"That is a mango scented candle on the left. The middle and last ones are peach and vanilla respectively," Panda informed him.

"It smells good," he murmured and yawned.

Luxurious rest tempted his body with a soft, warm bed, but he didn't want to fall asleep here with a complete (okay, not so complete) stranger as his only company. There was always the risk of getting molested in the dead of the night. Eww.

He tried stifling the second yawn, but found it difficult and succumbed to the drowsy airflow in his throat. His eyes scrunched shut, tickling slightly in the corners by his temples. Opening them proved to be a problem, as having his eyes shut for a slightly extended period of time already took a toll on his energy levels. Glowing orange shadows danced and flickered slightly in the room as the tiny but bright flames swallowed up more oxygen from the air.

"Are you tired?"

"N-" he tried to protest as his response was suddenly interrupted by a yawn, "hn... okay, yeah, I'm tired."

He heard the rustle of bed sheets as Panda pulled the folded blanket from the foot of the bed and draped it across the gamer's lithe body.

"Just sleep here tonight."

"But..." he yawned again, "I have class tomorrow and... I can't sleep with a stranger..."

Suddenly, Panda Man laughed a bright, quiet laugh that almost shot the redhead awake. From the blurry vision of his nearly shut eyes, he saw the stranger walk toward the opening in the wall and lowered his head.

"Do not fret. I have chronic insomnia and can go days without sleeping. I shall take care of your lessons tomorrow."

_Can he even do that? Not unless he's got significant influence here, he won't be able to do shit._

But before the redhead could protest, the stranger had already ducked into the passageway and left the room.

- -

He awoke without a ruckus or a start, simply tossing twice before getting his bearings. Mango, peaches, and vanilla still lingered in the air of the somewhat large room. Although he had thought it to be small earlier, the room was actually quite spacious once it was cleaned out. He tossed in his bed, turning away from the wall to face the room itself. The three candles from last night had burned out, the wicks missing from the clear glass bulbs that had housed them for the night. Rings from the wax lingered on the inside of the glass dried overnight and was waiting to be washed.

The redhead sat up and rubbed his eyes. His body was sore from the mattress, because although it was significantly more comfortable than his own, adjusting to this new plush comfort actually took a physical toll on his body.

_What time is it?_ he glanced to the clock and did a double take _Holy FUCK, it's almost noon! I have morning class on Saturday... Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit shit shitshitshit..._

"... shit, shit shitshitshitshit..."

Dizzy swirling filled his head as he sat up too quickly. Unable to hold his own weight, he collapsed back onto the bed with an 'oomph'.

_Screw that, it's probably over already anyway._

He rolled over in bed again, but this time felt the dipping warmth of the mattress as he realized there was someone sitting by his feet. Well, more like perching. The man gave him an inquisitorial look that simply spoke 'why must you use such language?'

Instead, Panda greeted him with, "Good morning. Would you like breakfast?"

The redhead simply stared at the man.

"Don't you mean lunch? It's almost twelve."

_Or we could just say 'brunch,'_ came the afterthought.

As if right on cue, Panda offered, "may we compromise with brunch?"

The redhead chuckled.

_There we go. And I thought strangers weren't supposed to be this predictable._

Although the assortment of fresh fruit on the table was tempting (especially those cherries), he needed to refuse. Saturday morning classes were the most important part of his schooling. At age fourteen, he was in his first year of specialized training. The YDEs would be harder this year. He'd probably have to hack into a security system designed by a former student. Or maybe write some algorithm with a function specified by his mentor. The YDEs weren't always tests. Sometimes, they were projects.

"I don't think I can do that," he protested, "I mean, my morning class is already over and that focuses on my specialty. There are no make-ups for that class and I'm pretty sure everyone's freaking out about a missing student now, too..."

He frowned and got up out of bed. Seriously, if he set that expression on his face any more, he'd get wrinkle lines like his teachers before anyone knew what the hell was going on.

"Do not fret. Did I not tell you that I would ask Roger to excuse you from your class. Simply take this note to him and do not read it."

Panda held out a slip of paper for him and he took it with hesitant fingers and proceeded to slip it to the right pocket of his white, hooded, no-sleeve, vest-jacket... thing. Jacket.

"But that's not just something I can make up any day of the week... I'll fall behind. We were on a tight schedule and I..."

_I don't typically like my classes, but I actually like my Saturday class. Shit. I'm gonna be so off schedule, I might not pass the YDEs._

The 'YDEs,' as some children liked to call them, were Yearly Diagnostic Exams. Pretty much a test every inhabitant and the House had to take with a general knowledge portion and an individualized section that judges what skill level you were at and the progress you made in your chosen field of expertise. With his Saturday class being so intensive, the redhead wanted to catch every bit of information there was available to him. If there was one thing he knew in the world, it was gaming, and part of that was hacking and coding. He loved it.

"I," the man cleared his throat, "will be personally teaching you during your make-up lesson. Consider me your substitute teacher or make-up teacher for the time being. Now, Roger is waiting for you in his office. He requested that you meet with him before join the other children for lunch so that he may advise you on how to conduct yourself regarding meeting me. Also, when is the next time you will be able to come here and see me?"

The redhead simply stared at the stranger, unable to form any coherent words. Panda was going to teach him? He didn't even know who Panda was, but it was almost as if...

_Intelligent, able to get into the House, knows about the House layout, has connections here, is familiar with the House's workings... actually, has influence here. He's... Oh my God. This must be **him**._

His eyes visibly widened at the realization and his mouth clamped shut upon itself. He was in the presence of greatness. Panda Man was god. The God of the House. Panda House? Maybe this place could be called Panda House now? But, actually now that he thought about it, this guy's eyes could also look like raccoon's eyes. Maybe if people were allowed to meet him, then there would be a Panda versus Raccoon war? It'd be like Ninjas versus Pirates, but way cooler.

Because Panda God kicks Ninja ass.

Now the nagging urge to run away had completely dissipated. This was him. This was the 'ruler of the House.'

"I'll be back tomorrow morning."

"Not tonight?" Panda asked, tapping his right index finger against his lower lip, a smile neatly spread smile upon those thin lips. He rested his finger tip on his chin and gazed toward the boy.

"No... I, uh..." he blushed, the volume of his voice lowering progressively in embarrassment as he spoke, "I just wanna hang out with Mello all of tonight. Is that okay?"

_Hey, I can't help that I'm a teenage boy..._

"Naturally," the older man replied. He then turned his attention toward the assortment of fruit at the table.

Panda chuckled and crouched on the floor, picking at the bowl of fruit. He picked a cherry and popped the whole thing into his mouth. The gamer watched him with some interest as the he could see Panda moving his tongue around in his mouth. A mere four seconds later, a knot of two cherry stems was on the tip of his tongue. He pinched the brown-green stems between his fingers and placed them on a napkin on the table before him. His face lit with a childish satisfaction.

"Would you like some of these cherries? They're quite sweet already without sugar or whipped cream."

The redhead nodded and joined the man on the floor, crossing his legs and shoving his fists into his lap, his knuckles popping against the wooden floor. He leaned against the table so that the middle of his chest lay against the light wooden table's edge.

"Alright then," he grinned, "I love black cherries."

- -

"Thanks," the redhead smiled as he sat on the bed, packing his belonging back into the backpack he'd brought with him the day before. "I guess I'll be heading down now. I'll see you tomorrow morning?"

He man stood beside the entryway, back slouched and hands in his pockets and nodded. He handed the redhead the folded note that had sat on his low, white table with the pinched fingers Panda Hold.

"Do not forget to deliver this to Roger. I shall see you again soon. Careful on the steps down."

"Yeah, I will be," he nodded as he entered the hallway-tunnel.

He began to crawl forward, but suddenly turned around to poke his head back into the room. Even the hallway-tunnel was dust-free now. Panda must have cleaned it out last night. Should he be leaving like this? Maybe it would be unfair to Panda if he didn't at least say something about his realization. With a new side-goal in mind, he turned around and began to backtrack into the hidden clocktower room. He peeked past the edge of the arch above his head and looked directly at the man perched beside the table in the middle of eating another piece of honeydew.

"Yes?" Panda asked, the corners of his lips pulling upwards as he looked at the redhead.

"I forgot to say something important," he grinned back, looking the man straight in the eyes. "Bye, L."

The raven-haired man smiled and closed his eyes, shaking his head in satisfaction. Part of him almost seemed like he had wanted the redhead to figure it out, to find out by himself.

Just as his back was facing the detective and he began to leave the room once more, L spoke. the words were clear and not too overbearing or loud. They simply gave the redhead a feeling of satisfaction.

"Goodbye, Mail Jeevas."

The gamer turned to the detective and gave him a sloppy grin.

"Please," he laughed, stopping just long enough to shoot the detective the less severe friendly smile he'd pulled from the grin, "Just call me Matt." **(2)**

- -

He crawled out of the space behind the front room's couch, tumbling out onto the floor. All of the children in the House would be eating at this time of the day. He'd have no problem getting around to Roger's office without being seen. A nagging in the pit of his stomach warned him against bumping into anyone at the House right now.

He made the his way toward the hallway directly outside the room. Roger's office was adjacent to the entrance of the House and the Library. Taking off his shoes and slipping them into his bag, he turned the corner and walked silently into the hall. The cold wooden floors chilled the soles of his feet through his thin, gray and black striped socks, urging him to slide by the door faster. Cold metal met his palm as he grasped the swinging gold handle of the office door and he gently pulled it open.

"Ah, Matt, I was expecting you," a man with a receding white hairline beckoned to him from behind a cherry wood desk.

"Yes, sir," he replied stiffly.

It was true that he was more informal around strangers, but this was Roger. He was in charge of the House for the time being and was respected for his position.

"Do you have the letter?"

"Yeah," he replied, "here it is, sir."

He handed the folded sheet of paper to the head of the orphanage. Roger suddenly leaned forward and touched Matt's hand and flipped it so that his palm was facing upward. After giving him a satisfactory nod, the man put the redhead's hands down and sat back into his seat.

"Yes, thank you, Matt. I do believe you've passed."

"Passed, sir? What do you mean?"

"Ahh, well last night the man you were staying with suggested that he give you think letter that has a hard to wash off blue residue that stains the fingers of the person who comes into contact with it. Had you opened this letter, your hands would be dyed blue. He simply wanted to test your trustworthiness. It seems as though you've passed the first round."

"Hah," he laughed to himself quietly. "Of course he'd do that."

Roger eyed him suspiciously, "Matt, did you say something?"

"No, sir," he replied with an amused smile on his face, "simply expressing how classic his plan was to test my loyalty."

"Alright, then. I suppose I'll tell you what you truly came here for. Once you meet the other children for lunch, I'd like to recommend that you tell them you were in the medical ward all night because of a slight food poisoning."

"Food poisoning? What from?"

_This is the House. No one gets food poisoning here. I bet Panda only told him to make up a story for why I wasn't there last night. Hah. Roger probably came up with it on his own._

Roger sighed.

"I suppose you may say you were in the medical wing from a bacteria that you had picked up from the nearby woods gave you small, one-night issue, if that seems to be more convenient for you." He clasped his hands before him and rested them on the desk, elbows just hanging off the edge of the table. "You may join the others now. You should go to your room first to put all of your belongings down. You're dismissed."

"Yeah, alright. Thanks."

He nodded his head respectfully and proceeded to back out of the room. but not before Roger suddenly perked up his head to say, "I do believe you know explicitly that you're not to tell anyone of meeting this man?"

"Of course, sir." He nodded again.

Roger was a good man, but sometimes Matt couldn't stand how blatantly and unthinkingly the man followed his orders from the higher ups. Everyone at the orphanage knew about the man being employed by the great L, but they were usually too reserved to speak up. Not that Matt would. What kind of good would a rash action like that do?

"Alright then. Welcome back, Matt."

"Thanks, sir."

And with that, he slipped out into the hallway and proceeded to walk toward the kitchen to his immediate right.

The first floor of the House was mostly rectangular in size with two somewhat larger rooms facing the front side of the House. Because of the front entry room and the Nurse's Office, two rectangular shaped bumps jutted out from the flat front side of the white building. Other than those two extensions, the main floor was generally in the shape of a blown up four by nine rectangle. The back of the building, had you been standing facing south, was three times taller than the front. That was because the childrens' living quarters were in the second and third floors of the building. Because the ground-level floor was in the shape of a rectangle, the top floors were pretty much a set of blown up four by six rectangles.

The general layout of both floors was a set up of five rooms of equal space on each floor. To the north, there was a window that looked out just past the balcony above the section of the House that wasn't being used to build other floors and onto the front playing field. Oh this balcony stood the northern clock tower, the place where L was currently residing. The eastern side of the floor held both the staircase, three bedrooms, and a small closet with everything from first aid kits to extra toilet paper, towels and soap. The western side of the living quarters held four identical rooms, each built for two people.

Although the third and second floors of the House each had seven rooms where two roommates could stay, the opposite side of the wall with the window had only a slightly bigger room that could house three people instead of two. Inside was a giant an identical window that faced toward the two-mile stretch of grassland and cleared dirt spaces surrounded by a fence of tall evergreens where you could watch both the sunrise and the sunset. Altogether, there was enough space for seventeen males to stay in the House, but because of the number of children there, the biggest room was empty and Mello roomed alone.

What would have been open space in the center of the boy's dorm was a showering room and a restroom each with two doors placed in such a way so that there was a perfect three foot wide hallway all around the area**(3)**.

Downstairs, Matt had slipped out of Roger's Office, taking an immediate turn towards the kitchen and dining area until he Crawling along the path along the dark wooden floorboards, Matt made his way toward the stairs at the other end of this half of the ground floor. He took them two at a time, grateful that he didn't run into a single person on his way up. As he stepped off the fourth flight of stairs and onto the third floor, he stumbled on the last step and fell forward onto the carpeted flooring of the boy's third floor dorm. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a pair of feet covered in black socks before him. Shaking his head, he looked up too quickly, little white dust-speck like lights danced in his vision, decorating the image of the owner of the black socks. Groggy blinks were the only action he could muster for the three seconds before he recognized the boy before him.

He had nearly tripped into his 'best friend'.

_Oh shit. He's gonna want to know where I've been since last night..._

"Hey, Matt!" the blond greeted him as he helped the redhead onto his feet. "I went to your room last night and all I saw was Near. Where have you been?"

_And there it is._

Matt took a deep breath, and looked up at the boy before him. Those clear green eyes stared directly at his, sending chills up his spine. His thoughts turned to something of a more... inappropriate and indecent nature. Before it became a problem, he changed this thoughts and shook his head again, a minor headache forming in his temples. He hated it when this happened and especially during inopportune moments.

"Uhh..." he trailed, attempting to regain his posture, "I, uhm, I got food poisoning and spent the night at the Nurse's Office."

Matt winced. He didn't like lying to people, and definitely not Mello. The only time that lying to the boy who had his currently slot of best friend and love interest in his heart could be allowed if Mello asked about his sexual preference.

The chocolate addict glared at the redhead from beneath his bangs. The older boy crossed his arms and rested all of his weight onto his right foot, his hip jutting out slightly and exposing a small line of pale white torso between the black cloth of his low riding pants and smooth, black longsleeve shirt.

"I went to the Nurse's Office," the blond stated, his mouth setting into a hard line, "she said you weren't there."

"Oh." He scratched the back of his head. "Well, I... I, uhh..."

_Fuck._

* * *

**(1)** Yeah, the ending note of the power on tune on an SP is a perfect C a couple octaves higher than middle C. I tested it out on my piano! Haha... the curse of the choir girl and her need to know the notes!  
**(2)** Did anyone notice that I never used the characters' names in the narration until a character in the story named them specifically?  
**(3)** I drew out the floorplan of the House on the backs of some of my rough drafts, so if anyone's confused about the way it looks, I could probably post it on my deviantArt account if needed.

So that concludes the first chapter of the spin-off/eventual sequel to L's Diary. This story is going to focus on Matt's PoV before and during the Kira Case, therefore making it a spin-off. However, I'll be writing about what happens with Matt after L's Diary ends (which will include more about L and Raito), which makes it a sequel in a way. Just go with it. :D  
I'm rather proud of this. It's the longest chapter I've ever written and I fully intend on making every chapter the same length. Let's hope I can keep up with this promise. I've already got 10 chapters of this planned and a vision and a hand drawn map of the House.

_Bisous, Minikimii_


	2. Harmless Secret?

Disclaimer: Death Note belongs to Ohba and Obata.

* * *

**Cake, Cards, Chocolate, and Cigarettes  
**Harmless Secret?

As if guilt weren't already eating him alive, things only got worse when more children began asking him about where he'd been all night. With approximately only thirty to forty kids or so in the House, news traveled fast.

Why would there be such a low number of attendants at an orphanage for the gifted? Well, for one, it was an orphanage. Then it was a school for the gifted. Simple as that. No one could worm their way into the system without meeting both requirements. Whenever someone gifted was reported in an orphanage that accepted the House's offer and a new child entered the House, the children would treat the newcomer like they were a shiny new toy. It was almost ridiculous sometimes amongst the younger populace, but that was just the way things were.

"So, Matt," a slim waist slipped into the seat beside him, pushing him lightly and bumping him into Mello, "where were you _really_ at yesterday?"

"I'm telling you, Skye," he sighed for the fifth time since it had struck the hour, "I was in the outskirts of the woods, relaxing. It was really nice outside so I fell asleep and contracted some weird bacteria thing. I woke up when it was really cold outside and I came into the House at bit after midnight and the Nurse made me drink this weird green juice stuff. That's it."

One of the brunets huffed, "well, it was more interesting the first time you told us. We'll catch you later," and walked away. The quieter twin followed, reaching out and taking his brother's hand to drag him away from bothering Matt and outside to play again.

That was Skye and Terra, both age fourteen. Skye was the energetic, lanky one with the tight muscles and 'dashing good looks.' His hair matched his brother's only in its golden-brown color and texture. Length wise, it had grown down to his shoulders long ago and was always pulled back in a loose ponytail two inches past the base of his neck. Because of his constant exercise, he was a good inch taller than his older brother and hid body was built according to that of a future thief.

Terra was the kinder, meeker twin with a soft pale skin and body. His hair had grown out to about five inches from root to tip and was constantly falling across his bright, hazel eyes only to be swept up again by his artistic fingers. A pencil was always tucked in the space above his right ear and a small notepad was always in his back left pocket, handy in case of the need for some 'intense note taking' as the boy had once jokingly put it. Really, it was for sketching the details of the remarkable buildings he'd run across during the House's bimonthly trips outside. Terra was smart enough to be the future mastermind of their brilliant break-in plans. The pair that had arrived from France a couple years ago due to their acting skills, but were soon found to posses other great talents. And because their newfound skills complimented each other, they took a portion of their Yearly Diagnostic Exams together.

Skye and Terra were two of the people Mello could tolerate other than Matt. Matt thought their chosen names were genius, but whenever Mello scoffed, saying that Terra was too feminine of a name and that the frailer boy should've chosen 'Tarren,' the redhead shut up. No use arguing with the blond.

Sighing, he looked down at his food, poking at the sandwich he and Mello were sharing with a toothpick. Seriously, they _had _to share. These things were big ass sandwiches!!

"So, Mello," he asked casually, "what are you doing today?"

The blond looked at him with dead eyes, obvious annoyance upon his features. He crossed his arms again and scowled.

_And that, children, _Matt chuckled, _is Mello's classic Pissy Face._

"Well, I was going to ask you to sleep over last night, but you were gone."

He felt his heart sink a little. So Mello while had visited to ask him to spend the night he was with Panda, cleaning and eating surprisingly delicious cake while talking about videogames and life? Damn. Okay, so maybe last night wasn't so bad. Even after so many visits to the clock tower room, he'd never expected for that flimsy-looking bed to be so comfortable. Actually, he'd never really imagine spending the night there, let alone meeting anyone. Actually, he was pretty sure only a paranoid idiot would truly think those types of things out. Or maybe a paranoid genius, seeing as how Panda was so careful with concealing himself from the outside world.

But he'd missed a sleepover opportunity with Mello. He's missed a chance to fall asleep near the object of his childish affection.

_Damn. Missed out._

Matt sighed. It wasn't that he hated Near just as Mello did. It was more of a matter of enjoying Mello's company over the younger boy's. Usually when Matt slept over at Mello's room, it served as a ticket to watch the blond sleep. The blond's usually stiff features would relax and his tense eyes would slide shut, leaving nothing but a vision of a blond, angelic beauty behind him. He placed a hand on the other boy's head, ruffling the blond strands lightly.

"Hey, you could've just asked Roger to room us together when I first got here," he reminded the hot-headed blond apologetically, adding under his breath, "I wish you did..."

"Yeah," the blond agreed, a rare show of his actual wants other than to beat Near, "but I didn't think I'd actually like you when you first got here."

On any other given day, the redhead would have given the chocoholic a near instantaneous response, but instead of replying to Mello's statement, Matt's mind had already began to wander to thoughts of the man that was most likely eating cake for lunch in the empty room floors above him. Would he be lonely up there? And when Matt went back up again, how would he address the man? L? Panda? Maybe a nickname or simply something like 'teacher' that would be generic and a paradoxical mix of informal and awkward. Perhaps Panda would enjoy hearing about that? And come to think of the strange man, how was he going to sneak into the passageway while the children were set loose inside the House. The entrance to the room was situated inside the room where the majority of the children in the House would pass by at any given hour of the day.

"... Matt, did you hear a single word that I said?"

The redhead looked up from the spot on the floor he'd zoned out into and straight at the blond beside him.

"Sorry, I spaced out."

Mello scowled and huffed an indignant sigh.

"I asked if you wanted to spend the night tonight. I don't think the teachers will care enough to try to stop it anyway. Not that they ever do anything," the older boy scoffed.

Matt furrowed his brow silently, observing the blond carefully and uncomfortably. Spending the night? He'd love to, but... what about Panda? He still couldn't bring himself to actually come out and say the famed investigator's name, let alone think it. Besides, some part of him already felt connected to the notion of the older man being a 'Panda'. Somehow, he was less threatening that way.

"When?" he asked, poking the remnants of his disemboweled sandwich. He mentally dubbed it 'maim by toothpick'.

"How about after dinner?" the blond turned to him and suggested.

"Sure," the gamer replied, as if on command.

_Oh shit, but I have to go be with L for my make up lesson... Damn it. What can I do without getting myself killed by my best friend or the head of the House?_

He turned to his right to see the other boy licking the last bit of raspberry vinaigrette off his fingertips. His insides tingled and a blush came to his face. It was as though his entire being was focusing on that long, pink tongue stroking around the chocoholic's index finger, stiffening as he watched the other boy slipped his finger into his mouth, closing his lips around the digit and sucking until he pulled it out clean, slowly from what Matt could only imagine to be the soft space between his lips. Matt's breath stopped as Mello's tongue quickly flicked out and met the very tip of his finger. His golden blond locks fell across his face as he held a napkin to wipe the saliva off his fingers. He ran that tongue quickly over his lips and then wiped his mouth clean on the napkin.

"Matt," the blond called to him within his mental fog, "are you alright?"

He shook his shaggy red hair to clear his head, coughing lightly into his fist, hoping that the momentary movement would distract Mello from the blood rushing through his cheeks. If the blond had noticed anything, he certainly didn't show it.

"Y-yeah," he coughed again when Mello patted him on the back, "I'm alright. Just swallowed a dust particle."

The blond snorted in his cocky, holier-than-thou way, his eyes alight with a surprisingly airy happiness. Matt cleared his throat and grinned back at him, making and holding eye contact until the blond grew uncomfortable and adverted his gaze.

"So, what do you want to do today? We've got all afternoon."

_Actually... _he frowned and sighed.

"Actually, Mello..." Matt began, scratching the back of his head, "I'm gonna be a bit busy in the afternoon," Mello gave him the eyebrow. "Previous engagement," he explained.

Matt could've sworn he heard a reluctant sigh as he watched those sensuous lips part and exhale.

"Uhm, but I don't think I'll have to do anything 'til three, so if you wanna hang out, that's cool," he quickly amended, throwing in a quick smile just for good measure, his eyes still slyly glancing toward Mello's mouth, his heart lifting a little as he watched those thin, pink lips, turn upward into the hubris grin they'd held before.

_Mello smiling this much? I must be delirious..._

He chuckled and nodded. He might as well take advantage of this opportunity to spend some time with his best friend, even if he couldn't exactly focus at the time.

"Alright then. Shall we do the usual?"

- -

Sundays were generally relaxation days. For the younger children, they took all day to play and do what small assignment the instructors of the House gave them. Monday through Friday, the House had classes for children that helped specialize their talents into their trade skill. Younger children and older children had different classes. The two age groups split at thirteen and ranged from eleven to eighteen with a new child adding to the mix every half year. The House had contacts inside some of the biggest orphanages in the world that would contact the House whenever they found a child with a talent. Every year when summer and winter rolled around, contacts the House held in other countries would find a student or two from orphanages all over the world and give them the opportunity to enter Wammy's House until they were eighteen. With a wide array of global contacts, new students would occasionally join the ranks of the other talented kids mid-school year if they agreed. Most times, the children did.

On the third floor of the House in the room the farthest away from the stairs, Matt sat tapping away at his SP in Mello's room, lying across the blond's bed on this stomach, a pillow propped up beneath his chin and his arms extended far ahead of his face. He'd turned down the mechanical music of the game, half wanting to go back to his own room next door to grab his headphones. True, Golden Sun had an amazing soundtrack, but he couldn't stand to listen to it without the headphones. It just wasn't the same.

"How long are you gonna be playing that?"

Mello plopped down beside the redhead and unfolded the silver foil of the chocolate bar he'd pulled from his bedside nightstand. The bar was actually already thee fourths gone, leaving only a small amount inside the oversized tin sheet. He broke off a chunk of the bar with his teeth, not biting down, but rather taking a hold on the chocolate with his teeth and bending the bar so that it broke off without him having to chomp down on it. He knew that if the blond hated anything about chocolate, it was getting the sugar caught in his teeth unnecessarily. The method he used was almost like breaking a piece off with his fingers and placing it in his mouth, just as clean, but much, much faster.

"Meh. As long as you want me to," the redhead replied casually.

'Follow Mello's wishes.' That was the lifestyle he had adapted to. Mello had figured it out a long time ago, but had enough respect for the younger boy to leave him free from being ordered around. The true nature of Matt's behavior was unknown. Instead, Matt was sure that Mello thought of them as more of an owner and puppy relationship. Believing that Matt was loyal simply because he loves his 'master' in a non-romantic way would be a completely close-minded thought process. But, then again, Mello wasn't known for thinking outside the box. He had his goals and principles that he stuck to almost a bit too steadfastly.

The blond suddenly lowered his body beside Matt's and lay on his stomach to watch the redhead play his game beside the boy, resting his head sideways on his crossed arms, his shoulder-length blond hair fanning out behind him, brushing the gamer's arms softly. Matt stiffened, the bumps in his skin rising at the simple touch of the other boy's hair to his skin. He simply continued to stare at the screen while Mello watched him. After a few moments of silence, he realized that Mello had closed his eyes, and was breathing deeply and evenly. He nudged the blond's arm, making a sound of exasperation at himself when Mello opened his eyes.

"Yeah, Matt?"

Those wide blue eyes stared directly into his, making him slightly uncomfortable at their close proximity. He could smell the chocolate from the other boy's breath and briefly wondered if Panda ever ate chocolate. Shaking those fleeting thoughts off, he turned to face his game once more.

"I just thought you were asleep," he explained, "so I wanted to wake you up. I wanna talk."

Hey, he was an honest guy. Just because he was careful, didn't mean he'd lie or sugarcoat anything unnecessarily. 'Unnecessarily' being the key word.

The blond lying beside him was silent for a while, gazing at Matt, seemingly scrutinizing him yet spacing off at the same time. Mello's face always relaxed when he was in his contemplative trance. It was unlike his 'studying face' (as Matt had dubbed it), which solidly held the wrinkles and frown lines no matter what he was focusing on. Matt didn't like it when Mello had that concentrating expression on his face, but couldn't bring himself to full on hate that look. The blond was just too beautiful for that.

"So what exactly are you doing this afternoon?" Mello asked.

_Aww shit. There it is again. How can I even... God, I don't know if I can lie to him! Augh. Ok. The partial truth isn't lying. It's just withholding information._

"Matt?"

His palms were sweating against his game boy, the old school Link sticker he'd put under the A and B buttons peeling slightly. Hanging out with Skye and Terra had done him some good as he learned how to keep his face straight. It was a difficult matter, but he found that when he truly concentrated on a spot somewhere in his vision, he could prevent discomfort from appearing on his face. Turning to face his game boy would have been the smart thing to do, but instead he focused on Mello.

"Matt. I asked you a question," an irritated voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Oh, yeah, uhm..." he trailed off, still not entirely as to what to say regarding his plans for the afternoon, "I-I've got a make up lesson to do for missing this morning's. Roger rescheduled my lesson."

His body tensed as the blond seemed to be glaring straight into his eyes and perhaps past them. To calm himself, he focused on the crease between the blond's brows, his eyes tracing the details of the older boy's face and admiring the sharpening curves to angles of his cheekbones. His eyes wandered downward to the boy's tongue again. That soft, stroking, sensuous distraction made his core churn slightly and his body heat rise.

"Well, that's alright," the blond nodded as he went back to resting his head on his thin, slightly tanned arms.

Matt mentally heaved a sigh of relief, yet couldn't do much about the slight problem in his pants. He was grateful that he was lying on his stomach, but nearly closed his eyes in uncontrollable want as Mello shifted again in the bed, his heated body pressing against Matt's gently as he readjusted his position. The redhead's eyes squeezed shut suddenly and he drew in a sharp breath. The chocolate addict was now lying facing his ceiling, stretching his arms past his head and then forward to his face. Matt opened his eyes and looked down to see his best friend's shirt began riding up slightly, that damned pale skin exposed and taunting him.

The color reminded him of Panda, whose melanin content was probably quite low overall in his skin. Except Panda's skin was different, not as tight looking, but probably just as smooth. It was the type that might get sunburned as opposed to tanned. A sunburned Panda, animal or person, would be a giggle-worthy sight.

His thoughts wandered until he began thinking about last night, He was somewhat shocked that he'd even told Panda about Mello in the first place.

_He didn't even flinch when I said I was gay. How can he be so tolerant? I've always never heard any of the teachers of the House being pro-homosexuality. That's just too weird..._

He stared, only semi seeing, at Mello's waistline. Suddenly, the cloth exposing the boy's body shifted over his skin and Matt's eyes were drawn upward to the boy's face beside him. The redhead was all too aware of the intense red blush upon his cheeks as he watched the boy lick the chocolate off his fingers in a repeated flicking motion.

_Mello, _he moaned mentally as his thoughts wandered farther down the road along with his hormones, _you don't even know what you can do to me..._

"Matt, are you okay?"

It wasn't a tone of concern, but rather one of something akin to condescending amusement that came from Mello's lips. Collapsing off his elbows, Matt sighed and pressed his face to the pillow his arms were just resting on.

"Y-yeah," he lied, his lips speaking against the cloth of the pillow. Even the pillow smelled like Mello. "I think it's just the thing I got out in the woods."

The blond eyed him suspiciously again, but ended the staring early with a sigh.

"Then go to the nurse," Mello ordered, his mouth setting into a lop-sided frown.

The redhead coughed again and sat up awkwardly, willing that Mello wouldn't look down at his pants. Luckily, the boy didn't.

"Let's go, Matt."

And like the loyal and loving puppy that the chocoholic believed he was, Matt followed him out of the room and down the grand cherry-wood stairs to the Nurse's Office while tapping away at his game boy like nothing was wrong.

- -

The metal disk on the end of the stethoscope always felt cold against his skin and he hated it. Doctoral equipment always made him feel uncomfortable. Thank God this examination didn't include any needles. Matt wasn't sure if he'd be able to stay conscious if it did.

"I'm going to the library to study," the blond called as he neared the exit of the room.

"Alright," Matt sighed, "see you after my make-up lesson, then."

Matt watched with a certain disconnected sadness as his best friend turned and left the small door to the Nurse's Office. He hated to see the boy go, but as usual, as soon as the blond got Matt to his destination, he'd leave with little or no conversation. If anything, since his realization of his feelings for the other boy, he'd been sighing more and more recently. He hated the physical feeling of the heave of breath and the gentle rise and fall of his shoulders. The action made him feel like a silly schoolgirl.

"Matt," the gentle voice of the Nurse instructed, "honey, open your mouth and say 'Ahh' now."

He complied and his eyes scrunched up a bit as he felt the prodding of the wooden popsicle stick against his tongue. Any more pressure and he'd probably gag. It wasn't that Nurse was bad at her job, but rather Matt's body was just too sensitive.

With a delicate nod, Nurse smiled and retracted the stick from Matt's mouth and flicked it with expert aim into the trashcan across the room by the door. Matt smiled a bit as he heard the stick plop into the bottom of the plastic lining without as much as brushing the rims of the bin.

"Nice aim," he commented as he turned back and met Nurse's eyes with his own.

"Naturally," she chuckled.

Nurse took off her gloves and began washing her hands in the sink, the sound of the interrupted water stream beating against the metal hollowly as she washed them from the webs between her fingers to her forearms with thorough vigor.

"Now, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with you," she informed him over the running water, "So you can run along now."

The whimsical tone of her voice actually worried the redhead. She dried her hands and untied her white-blonde hair from its high ponytail and let the above-the-shoulders strands fall around her face. She was quite young actually. Rumor was that she used to be a student at the House who'd left for medical school and come back with three different medical majors and four minors at the age of twenty seven, adopting the name 'Nurse'.

"Thanks much, Nurse," the gamer grinned, sliding off the examination table with a slight jump and a soft thud, "I'll just go ahead and take my leave, I suppose."

He pulled out his SP from his jacket pocket and flicked the power switch on. The light on the side of the silver square flashed red and he quickly shut it off again.

_Mello studying means another four to five hours without him. It's only one thirty, so... yeah. I might as well go visit Panda early. He wouldn't try to kill me for that, right? Well, of course not! He's the owner of the House after all and an unexplained death of a child here would be awful publicity. Of course, we never **get** publicity here. It's the House. It's closed off to the outside world the good majority of the time-_

The high soprano voice of the blonde nurse interrupted his thoughts.

"See you later, Matt. Try not to play too many videogames."

_Aww... whatever. I'll go see him now._

With a silent smile, he waved to Nurse and stepped out the door. Once outside the room, he turned right and made his way down the hallway. Soon, the opening to the main entry room was clearly in his sight. Matt surveyed his surroundings and decided that there was no threat of someone coming into the room before quickly ducking behind the leather couch and feeling along the creamy white walls with his fingertips. He stopped and closed his eyes, moving his hands farther to the right and only slightly downward before finding the irregular bump beneath the wallpaper. Keeping one finger on that spot, he trailed the other hand down the wall to the movable portion of the wooden floor panel. After sliding that one board farther into the wall, he uncovered a pull string underneath. Pressing the notch in the wall and pulling on the string at the same time, he pulled the latched sliding door panel hiding the passageway open. The notch he'd pressed opened up the pathway of the rope, making it possible to move the sliding trap door.

Slipping inside quickly, Matt shifted the wooden floorboard back into its original position and pulled string attached to the panel until it shut behind him. Turning to his immediate left, he followed the light at the end of the tunnel. The familiar ground beneath his feet began to slope upward gently until he turned the lit corner. The light was from the natural sun that was let through the ornate stained glass windows that was positioned conveniently along the passageway. This illuminated the metal bars that served as a ladder quite well. Matt slipped off his socks and stuffed them in his pockets so he wouldn't trip on the bars and began climbing.

_I wonder how Panda gets in here._

He hoisted himself onto the ledge of the elevated passageway and began crawling toward the end of the succeeding tunnel. The wall space suddenly evened out and he knew he'd passed the section of the girl's living spaces that held the extra large three-person room that matched the one on the boy's floor. He reached the end of the tunnel and stretched his arms up. He rubbed his sore knees before going up the second set of metal ladder bars and onto the tunnel lining the third floor.

With a huffed, he hoisted himself onto the third level and continued along the path of the last hallway. This hallway doubled up over the passageway of the last one and was the same length, but bent outward to the left halfway through. At the end of this bend was the last set of metal ladder bars that went skyward to the clock tower room.

"Hey, anyone there?" the redhead called as he threw his gaze toward the tunnel entrance at the end of the ladder.

A familiar voice from the night before called back, "Please. Come in."

With the invitation, Matt gripped the cold steel of the metal bars and climbed to the last tunnel. He lifted his body onto the last tunnel and crawled forward a few feet before standing up. He made his way toward Panda who was standing at the end of the curved tunnel.

"Back so soon and with no shoes?" Panda chuckled.

He looked down to his feet as he stepped off of the slight ledge of the tunnel and onto the wooden flooring.

"Nope," he replied a silly grin instantly lighting his face.

The faint sound of an exhale of air through the nostrils paired with a slight grin that was enough to show Matt that Panda approved. He pulled his socks out of his pocket, only to find that he must've dropped one back in the tunnel. Panda looked at him with a raised eyebrow and chuckled.

"Yeah, uhm... 'bout the socks..." Matt began to explain.

"It is no matter. I myself quite despise socks, really."

He stuffed the single sock back into his pocket and watched as Panda shuffled over to the bed and plopped down, pulling his legs up to his chest and settling into the mattress. Matt joined him without a word and sat down. He leaned forward to open a new box that sat on the table. This time, the box was a powder pink with white and light gold lines decorating it like they were frosting or honey drizzled onto the box instead of the printed ink on the box. He opened the box and took out a slice of chocolate fruit tart and a slice of marble cake with crushed peppermint candies scattered on top, and he placed them both on separate plates.

"This one is for you."

He handed the cake with peppermint to the teen and gave him another spork to eat with. They chuckled simultaneously, as they both took their first bites into their respective sweets. The pure taste of mint overwhelmed his mouth and he could feel his airways unblocking themselves and breathing freshly and delightedly. He shut his eyes as the sensation spread upward from his nostrils and seemed to fill his entire head with a clear and clean filtered sensation. The soft cake in his mouth melted along his tongue and he swallowed the bite without having to put any effort into chewing.

"This is amazing," he breathed as soon as he swallowed, "thank you."

"Your eyes sparkled," Panda smiled.

Matt turned his face downward to hide his own. He took another bite of the cake, savoring the not too sweet yet flavorful taste inside his mouth. The powerful peppermint taste had died down and had reduced to just a lingering feeling of clarity. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, letting the feeling of airflow take over again. In the back of his mind, he registered the older man smiling in the background, but the feeling of the air was too overwhelming for him to completely comprehend all the details of his surroundings.

"So what are you doing here early? I was sure that class was not supposed to begin until tonight."

Panda assumed Panda Stance and turned to Matt with pure curiosity in his eyes.

"Mello wants me to sleep over tonight and... Yeah. I hope I'm not being too pushy about it all."

Panda smiled and reached out to ruffle the boy's red hair. Matt felt his face color at the casual action, unsure of whether or not to be embarrassed or perhaps honored that a man of Panda's status was so friendly with him already.

"That is perfectly fine. I had nothing else to do but sit here and stare outside for a while, so I thank you for your companionship."

_He's so formal._

"It's no problem."

Matt took another small bite of his cake, smiling when the white touched his tongue and he felt the mint cover his senses once more. He set the plate and spork down on the table and hugged his knees to his chest, his eyes closing happily as his rocked back and forth slightly. It didn't matter that he looked so childish. He was enjoying himself and the appearance he took when he was happy didn't matter.

"Well, since you are here, we might as well take this time to do your make up lesson. If we start at almost two in the afternoon, I suppose we can finish at three thirty. Is that enough?"

"Yes," he responded.

"Well then," Panda got up from the bed, carrying his plate and fork with him as he shuffled over to the computer desk, "come take a seat here and your lesson for today shall commence."

- -

Two hours later, Matt was lying down on Panda's bed facing the ceiling. Panda sat at the foot of the bed again, collapsed against the wall and looking offhandedly in the redhead's direction. Matt had finished what Panda had planned early. Unlike his usual teacher, Panda allowed for him to work at his own pace. Translation: he showed Matt how to do something once and Matt understood and elaborated upon it. At the end of the lesson, Panda had actually taken some time to set up a small test for the teen to see exactly how much he knew. Needless to say, the gamer finished to quickly that the time he took to undo what Panda had set up was in fact equal to Panda's set up time. In all simplicity, the three-hour lesson was cut quite short.

Now, he had another hour to kill before he would head downstairs to meet Mello on the Library. When he'd asked Panda if it was okay to stay, his response was simple nod as an invitation to remain.

"So," Matt began, spreading his arms and legs out and stretching his limbs before he settled down into the mattress, "I've been wondering about last night..."

"Yes?" Panda asked while fiddling with a stack of sugar cubes on the table he'd pulled up beside him.

He took a deep breath. Would he ask now? Of course, there was no reason not to ask or to be afraid to ask. Panda had proven himself trustworthy and accepting enough to be confronted with this kind of question, not that trust was really an issue here. It was mostly the awkwardness that he was worried about.

"Why weren't you grossed out when I said I was gay?"

A knowing smiled spread across the detective's face as his replied, "because I too am homosexual, Matt."

"Y-you're... You're _what_?"

"I said that I am also gay," Panda sighed exasperatedly.

And although he needed no clarification, with those repeated words, he understood. And now that he'd heard those words, he had too many questions to ask.

_Is he out of the closet? Who knows about his orientation? How old was he when he knew? Is it hard to be homosexual? Has he ever had a relationship? What's a gay relationship like? Who was his first? What was that like? What was his first like? Does he have anyone right now? How can you tell if someone else is the same way? What does he like in males? _Matt stiffened at the last thought. _That was **completely **uncalled for._

He blushed and buried his face into the pillow beside his head.

"Matt, it is alright to ask me any questions you may have," he paused and looked to the ceiling as if he was going to retract his offer. Instead, he amended, "actually, you may feel free to ask me any question you like. I may choose not to answer though."

The blush seeped away from the redhead's cheeks as he lifted his head back up to look at the older male. The man smiled at him again, and this time it was a kind, guiding smile.

"W-well," he cleared his throat and sat up, hugging the pillow to his chest as he leaned against the wall, "let's start with my first question: Who knows about you?"

Suddenly, there was a need for him to assume Panda stance.

"Ahh... you picked a simple one. Only Watari and my previous lover knew of my orientation. Now you do as well."

_'Previous **lover**'? _he coughed, _how? When? **Who**?_

Panda looked over in his direction to see the redhead's green eyes widen in slight shock.

"Did you not expect that answer?" he laughed, "Did you honestly not expect that I have had a lover before? I only tell those who ask and no one has ever thought of asking me of my orientation. I suppose the assume that I am heterosexual."

Matt only nodded dully as a response. The initial shock was still in his system and running its course through his processing systems. Instead of waiting for the redhead to recover, Panda already jumped to his next offer.

"Do you have any other questions?"

He blinked a few times, clearing his head and mind until he could form a proper response.

"Yes," he answered, "I do. Who?"

The saw the constant smile he'd grown used to leave Panda's face. It seemed as though all of the man's features dulled slightly when Matt had asked him the question. A pained look flashed across the investigator's dark eyes and Matt felt his heart crack.

"Well, there has only ever been one. I suppose I may tell you a little of him," Panda began, gently placing another sugar cube atop his towering creation with trembling fingers, "but not today."

Matt's eyes went softened as he let go of the stiff air he had held in his lungs and mentally slapped himself.

_And here I was, thinking that he'd actually tell me. Whatever it was, whoever it was... what happened must've been bad._

He eyed Panda with concerned silence as the older man opened another box of sugar cubes and began stacking them atop his small tower. The whitish crystalline structure of a pyramid shone pleasantly. Sugar cube after sugar cube piled onto the square base for a good five whole minutes. Luckily, the redhead was smart enough to know now to disturb the man while he worked. Soon after the five minutes passed, Panda looked up from his now perfectly spaced, five layer pyramid and directly into Matt's grass green eyes.

"Now," he started, "with those questions aside, do you wish to ask me anything else?"

"No, not really..." Matt admitted. Even though he'd spent five minutes zoning out after watching Panda develop his sugary architecture, he was at an obvious loss as to what to say.

"Well, I suppose I should inform you of the other secret rooms in the House."

He blinked repeatedly and imagined his eyes bulging comically as he processed what the older man had told him.

"There are _others_?" Panda only nodded in response. "Where?"

"Well," the detective began, turning around and wagging his finger uncharacteristically in the redhead's face, "not so fast. Let me start from the beginning. Get into a comfortable position," he added offhandedly.

Obeying, Matt slid onto his stomach on the bed and lay so that he faced the detective with a pillow tucked under his chin and chest, his arms crossed before him. He lay his head down so that when he blinked he could feel his eyelashes bat against his forearm. Panda turned back around and continued to build his sugar cube pyramid into a tower.

"Since you appear to be ready," he spoke into the air, "I shall begin. There are approximately five other hidden resting places I regularly reside in within the House. This one is probably one of the easiest to access yet the hardest to find. In fact, the trek you take up the tunnels and ladders is the longest of all of the pathways to the other rooms. The other five rooms are hidden all across the House grounds, three of which are in places that you probably visit or are near regularly. The more public the hiding spot of a secret room is, the harder it is to find the way in. Of course, you cannot accidentally stumble across those entries without knowing what you are looking for very easily. That is, unless you are extremely bored and prone to observing things for the fine details."

_Five other rooms in this place? Great, now I'll have to figure out how that's physically possible. Actually, I'll have to go and find these places first. Damn._

"I switch between living in each of these places when I reside in the House. In six days, I will have to move again."

Matt stared at the back of Panda's head. In six days, the man would move. Six days.

_Six days and then I won't see him for a long time... Augh! Why am I becoming so obsessed with him?_

He expelled the air from his lungs with a great heaving sigh, closing his eyes tiredly as he let his arms fall from their folded position. Eyes closed and arms dangling off the bed, his fingers accidentally brushed against the cotton of the detective's shirt. Although he suddenly became hyper aware of the other male, Panda did not seem to react in any way, so he let his attention fall back down to its normal range.

"So..." Matt calmed his voice, "six days, huh? How long does that mean you'll be staying here?"

"The amount of time is indefinite. I stay as long as I can or wish until some pressing matter pulls me out once more. For this trip, I plan on staying in every location for approximately a week, give or take a day."

_He just keeps saying more and more things that make me want to **know**, but then he never elaborates on them. Maybe he just doesn't trust me enough yet..._

"Tell me more about the other places in the House."

"Well, you see, these places are typically something that I leave for the children to find. I have not yet been to any of the other sites on this visit, so I am not sure if anyone else in the House has found them yet, so I shall give you a clue. Their entrances generally function similar to this one and are typically near walls. Any switches will be under something and there will almost never be a single switch. Since this entrance is actually the oldest one in the House, the others may or may not include ropes in their traps."

Panda tapped his lips as if lost in thought. He turned toward Matt's direction and stared beyond him.

"That is all I can tell you for now. It is nearly five in the afternoon, Matt, so you should probably head down now if you want to meet Mello."

The redhead turned his head in the same direction as Panda's to look at the clock. Past all of the clock's inner mechanisms were the giant metal hands on the opposite side of the blue glass clearly displaying the time. Panda was right. He needed to head down now.

"Alright then. I'll go, but when I come back tomorrow you better still be here."

"If you wish to return, I have no objection. Please remember not to skip your classes though, for I would hate for a young resident of the House to miss their lessons because of me."

He checked his pockets for his SP and his sock. Seeing that they were securely with him, the redhead stepped into the tunnel.

"Wait," Matt stopped, "do you prefer coffee or tea?"

"Coffee," the redhead answered and Panda nodded. "Well, see ya," he waved.

Panda gave him a warm, silent wave with two fingers and watched as Matt slowly began descending the ladder. When the redhead had hit the ground, he found his sock at the end of the tunnel and stuffed the black and gray cloth in his pocket before continuing the trip back to the ground floor.

- -

After listening intently for quite a few minutes, Matt pulled the rope to the door and quickly slipped back outside, latching the entrance as fast as possible. Standing up and dusting himself off, he slipped his socks back on and headed for the Library. The hallways were deserted as the kids were already well into doing their individual activities, so Matt had no problem getting out of the space behind the couch unnoticed. Thankfully, it would have been hard to see him because there was an elegantly clothed coffee table blocking the view of the back of the couch from the door. Anyone looking in would never have seen Matt sneak behind.

He walked leisurely down the hallways until he reached the open entrance of the Library. He actually quite loved this place, even though he hated studying and reading. There was a certain charm to the silence and order in the giant space. He made his way near the back of the Library and took the stairs up to the second half floor. The first floor roofs were because of the addition of that second floor of the Library. He didn't mind though, because the open space of the adjacent dining room set an ambiance fit for relaxation.

At the table farthest away from the stairs and the railing that looked over the first floor sat Mello, his nose buried in a book, twirling a pencil nimbly in his hand. Beside him sat a stack of about seven other books and another small pile of two.

"Hey," Matt whispered as he joined the studious blond, sitting to the boy's left.

"Hey."

The mirrored reply brought a smile to his face and he leaned forward and turned his head to the right to read the title of the book Mello was currently staring at.

"Entomology? Why the heck would you want to study bugs? Your YDEs have nothing to do with bugs."

The blond looked up from his book and scowled. He shut the book's covers and set it on the table, his index finger holding his spot between the hundreds of pages.

"Well, I'm studying them because I want to."

Matt gave him the eyebrow and reached out for the book, taking it slowly from Mello's reluctant grasp and opening it to the page that he was on. When he saw what was on the page, he almost died of laughter.

"Butterflies, Mello? You're studying butterflies! That's just _so_ masculine of you!"

The blond huffed a dismayed sigh and buried his face into his palms.

"Yes, Matt," he hissed, "I'm studying butterflies. Now would you _please_ stop laughing and let me get back to my book?"

Wiping a tear out of the corner of his eyes and forcing his laughter into a locked box, Matt handed the book back to the blond.

"Sure, but I'm gonna get real bored real fast, so you better hurry up before I go back to my room to hang out with Near."

He wouldn't actually mind hanging out with the little cue tip. He liked his roommate, but the threat always worked like magic with Mello.

Mello glared at him with his icy blue eyes. Normally this would've bothered Matt, but he was too confident - too _cocky_ - to even care at the moment. Somehow, spending three hours with Panda had made him far more optimistic about the day than he normally was. When the gamer was optimistic, he took chances.

"Fine. See if I care."

Matt stood up and ruffled the blond's silken hair only to have his hand swatted away. Even though he knew Mello didn't mean anything by it, his heart still sank a little from the rejection.

Just as he was about to leave, Mello unexpectedly stood up and grabbed the redhead by the wrist. Matt stiffened at the contact and a blush came across his cheeks. Mello's hands were surprisingly soft, yet they held a firm grasp on his forearm. He was spun around and had a book shoved into his hands.

"Hold those while I put these back and then we'll go downstairs."

_Damn, I'm good._

With a triumphant grin, Matt headed down the stairs. Waiting for Mello, he leaned against the wall of the Library entrance watching the other kids pass him by as they made their way to the dining room. The clock that hung on balcony space of the second floor told him it was nearly six. That meant that dinner would be served soon, seeing as how the dining hours were from six until nine every night. The House never had specified times for eating at night. They simply allowed more freedom to the children on weeknights and weekends, trusting that no one would go anorexic or bulimic. Outside media pressures didn't reach the children here as thoroughly as they did to the kinds in the outside world. Some would call it isolation, but most resident agreed that it was simply the atmosphere of Wammy's House that made for more responsible children that thought for themselves. Independence was the House's pride.

"Let's go," Mello murmured as he brushed by Matt with a tenacity hidden beneath his impatience, making his way straight to the stairs.

"Alright."

Still holding Mello's books, the gamer followed him out of the library, a silly grin plastered across his face as they made their way up the dark wooden steps to the third floor.

- -

Three hours after dinner, Matt was back up in Mello's room again. He'd briefly stopped into his room and written a hasty note to Near informing the boy that he was to be gone that night. He could've just run downstairs and spoken to the boy in the playroom, but that would've taken way too much time on his part. Besides, Near was much more relaxed and easy going than most people thought he was. Just because he was the second most intelligent child in the House didn't mean that he was uptight.

Matt's thoughts briefly flitted to the test he'd taken when he had first entered the House. Although the proctor had never given him his IQ score, he was informed that he was one of the most intelligent children that had ever stepped onto House grounds. Because he was Near's roommate, he knew well enough that the little cotton ball did study. He just did so out of the eye of the 'public'. Matt on the other hand, was too lazy to so much as crack open the book. Somehow, he still managed to score as third most talented child at the House on his first general YDE.

Green glowing numbers on the digital clock read nine-thirty. The blond was currently taking a shower and Matt had brought his newly charged SP with him. Lying on the bed, he tapped away at Golden Sun, ear buds in, and a happy grin on his face. Matt had begun his shower at the same time as Mello, but the blond always took at least twenty minutes longer than he did. Meanwhile, the gamer simply killed time doing what he did best: game.

_Damn, Crossbone Isle is a bitch. All those cursed items... the Cleric's ring sure is handy. Maybe I should go kick some Storm Lizard ass after this run. That might be fun._

He held down the B button and closed his eyes, his arms extending in front of him as he rolled onto his back and propped up his legs so that his right ankle was resting in the air on his knee. He stretched upward with a muffled guttural sound coming from his throat. His damp red hair soaked the pillow and he sat up abruptly as he realized what he'd done.

_Aww shit. Mello might kill me for this. He hates it when his pillow's wet..._

Sighing, Matt sat up and leaned his back against the wall. He stared at the game screen as his level thirty-five Isaac pummeled through the last monster in this set of guardians on the Isle. He didn't really pay attention though as the sound of the bedroom door opening distracted him.

_There is a God._

Matt had to stealthily wipe a bit of drool off the corner of his mouth as his blond best friend stepped into the room dripping wet and shirtless. He almost stopped breathing until the lightheaded feeling in his head causing him to break his stare and focus back down at his game.

"Grabbed two pairs of pants instead of a shirt," the blond mumbled, flipping through the folded clothes in his drawer, "Hey, Matt, do you have a shirt I could borrow? I can't find any in here."

"Yeah, sure."

Instead of getting up to go to his own room, he reached for the hem of the shirt he was wearing and stripped it off, tossing it to the older boy. Mello squinted his eyes slightly at the redhead and pulled the black and gray striped shirt on over his smaller body. The sleeves of the shirt hung completely over his left hand and the collar exposed almost of the same shoulder. Straightening the shirt didn't take long, but the annoyance was thoroughly evident on the boy's face. Mello turned to face the redhead, and crossed his arm over his chest.

"Gods, Matt, how can you be so big at fourteen?"

Matt choked on his spit.

"M-my shoulder span is wider than yours? I dunno!" he half-yelled in a shaky voice, his face flushing red at Mello's words.

_Do you have **any** idea what you've just said?!_

Evidently not, because Mello simply threw his clothes into his overflowing laundry basket and plopped down beside the gamer as if nothing was wrong. Either the boy chose to ignore the way his words had sounded or he really was deaf to sexuall innuendo. Matt wasn't sure which explanation he preferred, so he opted to simply forget about the entire ordeal instead.

"You shouldn't be shirtless after a shower. You could get sick," Mello mused as he sat beside the redhead, drying his hair with a towel he'd picked out of his dresser's bottom drawer. "Actually, aren't you already sick?"

"No," the redhead clarified, "Nurse said nothing was wrong with me."

"Hn."

Matt felt a bit useless sitting there as he played his game. Games usually took care of his boredom, but for some reason it felt like a mindless, almost droning activity. His mind was blank and unprocessing as his fingers reflexively tapped away at the worn buttons of his SP. He wasn't even looking at the screen anymore and was instead staring at the twisting design Linda had drawn onto the silver borders of the screen.

In the back of his mind, his thoughts drifted to Panda upstairs. He would probably be eating more sweets or something right now, seeing as how that was all the boy had seen him eat for the past few days. Actually, how did he get the food? Did Watari bring it to him? And how did he bathe? He seemed quite clean both times Matt had visited him. Did he sneak down to a private bathing room when the House was asleep? Maybe he heated water in the room upstairs and washed down with a towel and soap? That might explain what those piles were doing in the corner of his room. Well, whatever. Maybe he had other rooms in the House that he washed in. Plumbing did somehow reach the tower room, right? After all, there _was_ a sink in there last time he checked. Which was two hours ago. Now if Panda could somehow haul the sink out of its place in the wall and move it out of the tower room all by himself, then that might mean something. Maybe. He chuckled at the visual of the older man carrying the shiny metal sink to the arched entrance of the room.

_What the hell am I gonna do when he moves in six days?_

He let the thought drop again to the back of his mind as the sudden pressure of Mello's body was against his left arm. The blond had scooted closer to him, his head cocked to the right, practically resting on Matt's shoulder as he leaned in for a closer look.

_He probably wouldn't act like this if he knew I wasn't straight..._

"I still don't get why you love games so much," he frowned, playing with the hem of Matt's striped shirt.

"Just watch and understand, little Melly, watch and un-der-stand."

The blond bumped him a tad violently as Matt used the feminine nickname.

"Don't call me that," he play-growled.

A wicked smirk painted the redhead's face as he watched the animation of a giant magical sword impale an undead pirate on the screen. Maybe tonight he could pull out having some more teasing fun with the older boy. Mello's face was always so cute as he got frustrated with anything, even if the expression did involve some scowling and some wrinkles in the forehead.

"Call you what, _Melly_?" he teased, bumping the boy back.

A yawn bubbled up from the back of his throat and his eyes squeezed shut as he folded his handheld and flicked the power switch off. After he set it on the ground, he looked up and saw the predicted scowl upon his best friend's lips. He grinned back cockily and tousled Mello's damp blond hair. The older boy sighed and got up from the bed and walked over to the light switch on the wall.

"Well, whatever. I'm getting tired," Mello yawned, "let's turn in for the night."

He flicked the light down and made his way carefully back into the bed. Sitting down at the foot of the mattress, he plopped his body into a laying position and stretched his arms out away from his body. He turned and faced Matt, pulling the younger boy down beside him.

"W-woah, Mello, what are you doing?" the redhead protested as he hurried and scooted away from the blond under the covers beside him.

"What? You don't have a shirt on. I'm not gonna let you sleep on the floor tonight. What if you catch a cold?" And with those words, Mello snuggled into the covers and turned his back to his best friend. "Good night, Matt."

"Uhh... Good night, Mello?"

The blond chuckled and after twenty minutes fell slowly into a stilling slumber. Matt simply lay frozen in the bed, synthetic breathing rhythms causing his chest to rise and fall at different rats. The black bed sheets were warming quickly with the combined temperature of two bodies heating up the cloth. Matt shifted uncomfortably in the bed, his leg accidentally brushing against the back of Mello's. The older boy moaned lightly at the contact and turned around so that his body was facing Matt's in his sleep. The redhead sighed lightly, the puff of his breath interrupting the smooth fall of Mello's bangs across his face. With a discreet shifting, Matt adjusted his body so that he could watch the blond's relaxed forehead and parted lips.

_God, Mello... If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that you planned for things like this to happen._

He sighed and continued to watch the blond. Mello was a light sleeper, but he fell asleep quickly. Eventually, stream of consciousness took over his mind once more and Matt began to wonder about the other parts of the House. Panda said there were five more places in the House that he could hide in. If that was true and if he couldn't find any of these places, then he wouldn't see the detective for almost a month and a half. Of course, with Panda being a man of rumored great genius, then he probably wouldn't go to these places in a consistent cycle. It would seem more probable that he would select them at random and stay for irregular periods of time. But what would be the use of that? This was _Wammy's House_. No one got into Wammy's House without getting past security, and security would never let anyone dangerous onto House grounds. The day that happened would be the day Mello finally stopped hating Near.

_Actually, that's probably not too far-fetched. I bet he'll get over all of it eventually. I shouldn't worry._

The chocolate addict shifted in his sleep and rolled over so that he was facing his best friend. Heat began spreading through Matt's body as he tried without success to move away from the blond. Mello only scooted closer to him, his body snuggling against Matt's rapidly heating one. If Matt moved now, he'd wake up the older boy and probably get beaten half to death for their compromising position.

If the blond was going to be doing this, he might as well take advantage of the situation. Besides, when was the next time he'd be able to hold Mello like this? With a heaving sigh, Matt wrapped one of his arms around Mello's thin body and the teen tucked his head into the crook of Matt's bare arm. He feeling of the other boy breathing rhythmically on his skin made him shiver happily. When Mello leaned his head in closer and his lips touched against Matt's chest, he felt as if he was on fire.

_I bet Panda's felt like this before,_he mused amidst the sensations he was feeling through his adolecent body,_ having a previous lover and all. Damn, I really want to know who it was. What if... wait. Panda said he was here to get away from his work. 'Previous lover' and getting away from work? Maybe it's somehow connected. _

Matt's eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he ripped through his memory for any sort of clue that he might've seen recently that would help him. Would the man ever trust him enough to tell Matt about his life story? Unconsciously, he'd set himself a goal. He'd earn Panda's trust. He'd earn Panda's trust and find out more about the confusing man. He could learn so much from the detective. Even though he'd never taken an interest in learning before, Panda was somehow able to evoke those feeling swithin him. When he was with the older man, he became more sporadically inquisitive. It was like Panda flipped a switch inside him that would force him to think...

_I **need** to know..._

Unable to remain awake any longer and the last of his brainpower fading, the boy simply let the thought go as he slid into his Delta state of consciousness. But in his drowsy mind, part of him sat contemplating the reclusive man that probably sat awake in the clock tower room nibbling away at another fruit tart or peppermint cake.

* * *

Delta consciousness is the state of the mind when one is deeply asleep. Alpha when one is daydreaming or meditating and Beta consciousness is when one is simply awake and coherent.

I was listening to songs from Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away while I was writing. Thanks so much to Riel-chan for telling me to listen. 'Twas inspiring.  
**I love reviews.** Tell me what you think, what worked for you, and what I could work on. **Any feedback is greatly appreciated **and I'll try my best to improve. :D

_Bisous, Minikimii_


	3. Dysfunctional Empathy

Disclaimer: Death Note belongs to Ohba and Obata.  
Sorry about this update being a few hours later than I'd planned. It's Matt's birthday today and I guess updating can be considered his birthday gift? I didn't plan my update schedule this way!! I think he'll hate me for this. It's a crappy gift on his part. D:

Please enjoy.

* * *

**Cake, Cards, Chocolate, and Cigarettes  
**Dysfunctional Empathy

The first thing he noticed was how his right arm had a small bit of drool on it. Matt did not exactly enjoyed being slobbered on in his sleep, but since it was the blond who had done it... aww, who was he kidding? That was just nasty.

Darkness still filled the room save for the glowing green dashes that specified that he'd woken up approximately two hours early with their chubby glow. He rolled over in his sleep, Mello shifting and murmuring an incoherent protest before he froze and stopped. The boy was glommed to his arm, snuggling into it like Matt was his favorite stuffed animal or a giant bar of chocolate. The redhead tried to moved out of the blond's confining grasp, but only worsened his situation as his movement caused the boy attached to him to snuggled closer, pressing his slim body against Matt's bare chest.

Thanks to the contact, he was now sporting a hard-on.

Prying the chocoholic's slim fingers off his arm, he shuffled out of the bed and headed into the hallway. (megan is awesome!!!! this is an insertion by the best friend forever. **(1) **Coolness from the wooden floorboards seeped into the pads of his feet, urging him to rush faster to the door of the bathroom. Grasping the handle firmly, he tugged and quickly slipped inside the pristine, white facility. The boy entered the first stall he came into contact with and shut the toilet lid to sit on top.

Slipping his pajama bottoms to the floor, he grasped his arousal and began stroking himself. Images of the blond pressed against him, below him, behind him flowed constantly into Matt's head. This was Mello's hand touching him, Mello's lips against his neck, Mello's breath on his skin, Mello's teeth nipping at his ears, Mello's hands brushing across his chest...

"Mello..." he whispered breathlessly, screwing his eyes shut as he worked his hardened member more rigorously.

He pumped harder, throwing his head back, and he bit into his lip, hard enough to mark, but not enough to bleed. Pleasure was building in his lower regions, threatening to overflow. With a final pump and a silent cry of the blond's name, he came.

Matt sat, shaking at the feeling of release and reached a trembling hand toward thfe toilet paper dispenser. He pulled a few squares off the roll and wiped off the evidence of his actions from where they had dirtied the area. It would probably be bad fro the plumbing, but his guilty conscience pestered him to. Folding the paper into a small square, he stood up and tossed it into the toilet, flushing away the evidence of his actions. He exited the stall and washed his hands thoroughly with the liquid soap sitting on the marble counter.

Crossing the distance from the bathroom back to Mello's room, the boy slipped back into the blond's room and stopped at the foot of the bed. Nestled into the blankets was Mello's relaxed face, breathing innocently. Matt watched the boy turn around and grope the bed sheets for the missing warmth of the other body that had laid with him only a few minutes ago. An involuntary smile came to his face as Mello's semi-coherent mind registered the spot to be empty. Opening his eyes slowly, the blond instinctively grabbed at Matt's arm and pulled him back into the bed.

"I'm tired, it's cold, too early, sleep..." the older boy ordered.

Matt happily complied and slipped between the mattress and the sheets beside his best friend. Mello rolled over and clung to his body. Matt felt another shifting in his lower regions, but forced himself to think of something else. Something that was a total turn-off... like Linda. Yeah, thinking of Linda would definitely help.

"You're so warm..." Mello murmured, and fell asleep, arms slung around the neck of his best friend.

He could feel relaxation sink from Mello's body into the mattress they shared. Truly, he loved it when the blond was sleepy. He often said things that seemed out of character when his social walls were down. Although he loved the way Mello was when he his actions were without bounds, the mask Mello wore was just as intriguing and endearing as his unguarded self.

Matt smiled; adjusting in the bed sheets without waking Mello up as he wished somewhat that the thoughts could reach the boy. Tentatively, he brushed his thumb over his best friend's parted lips, tracing them lightly, an involuntary smile gracing his lips as he felt Mello speak incoherent words against his thumb. The beat of his heart would have sped up, but exhaustion began to take over him as he lay in the bed and drifted in and out of a partial sleep. It wasn't until the alarm finally rang at seven that Matt almost fell asleepf and the pair got up to get ready for their classes.

- -

Matt sat at the left side of the classroom and continued to stare out the window, his head rested on his arms that were crossed atop his desk. Class work finished long ago, he felt he had earned the rest and right not to pay attention. He shared a table with Mello so if he had even tried turning around, he probably wouldn't be able to concentrate for a long time afterward. The events of the morning were still quite embarrassing in his head. Of course, it wasn't like he hadn't done _that _before, but it was just that he had never gotten back into bed with his walking, talking wet dream after the action.

He sighed again and collapsed his face into the space he'd created between his arms. A thin line of light that came in by his right ear interrupted the darkness in his vision. It reminded him of Panda's hair and how it wasn't exactly always black because of the few white hairs the man was shamelessly sporting. It was probably from the stress of being on the top of the world of crime and justice. Perhaps some of it was the stress caused by whatever happened to his ex-lover? Although the thought did cross his mind, it wasn't like Matt could actually _ask _Panda about his past relations so he opted for sitting in contemplation instead.

Suddenly he felt a tap on his right elbow and a folded paper slip in to interrupt the space between Matt's arm and the wooden surface. He unfolded it quietly while their professor's back was turned as he looked down to help Skye with history as usual. Memorizing the different emperors of each of China's dynasties and their accomplishments and failures was a topic Matt knew would be a challenge to the perky twin, especially when he heard a groan and the sound of a head thumping onto a desk. He looked over to see Terra giggling at his brother's behavior while patting the boy on the back.

Adverting his attention, he looked down at the paper Mello had slipped to him.

**_You look more distracted than usual. What's wrong?_**

**Nothing,** he wrote, heaving another unavoidable sigh as he did so, **I'm just tired.**

He passed the note back to the other boy without folding it. His plain handwriting dulled in comparison to his best friend's neat, yet elegant manuscript. Even the paper that the boy used seemed nicer than the sheets Matt carried in his folders. The fact that the blond have even considered passing him a note made him smile. Mello only passed notes when he was done with his work and felt he wanted to talk. Matt probably didn't have to worry about their teacher coming over to lecture them again about the proper etiquette in a classroom.

He watched as the boy slipped a square of chocolate from his pocket into his mouth and took the letter to read. By watching Mello eat the chocolate, he could almost feel the sensation of the sweetness melting on his tongue and spreading around the smallest areas of the mouth. His serene smiled turned to one of surprise as he looked down to see the words that mello had written onto the paper.

**_Liar. It has to do with where you were last night._**

Sweat didn't form on his brow, but Matt had to stop himself from shifting his weight uneasily in his chair as slight panic filled his brain. He though he had been quiet last night during his 'escapade'. Did Mello hear something? It's not like Matt was a vocal individual... Unless, Mello had been up to go use the restroom as well? He did "wake up" momentarily last night when Matt had returned to the room. Of course, if he had indeed heard something, then Matt would've heard the door of the restroom swing open, right?

_But I could've just been too wrapped up in my own activities to notice._

He forced himself to scrawl a half-assed response before passing the note back to the blond.

**No, it doesn't. There's nothing to find out, so don't ask, all right?**

He drew a small smiley face with down turned eyebrows at the end of his message. Hopefully the blond would understand the relaxing 'don't worry' he meant by the doodle. He passed the note back to his best friend only to hear an angry tap and drag of mechanical pencil on paper. He felt the note poke back into his arm and quickly swept it up as their history teacher walked by the pair and out of the room to go to his next class.

Matt looked down at the paper and groaned.

**_So you don't deny being somewhere last night?_**

**No**, he wrote, sighing as he did, **All I did was go to the restroom.**

Becoming a hair more than just slightly annoyed, Matt slid the paper back to the blond sitting beside him, locking eyes with the boy as he took the paper. The intensity behind Mello's stare scared him. Something was of about the situation, but Matt couldn't quite place what. Regardless, he could tell this could end one of two ways: Badly or Horribly.

Without breaking their eye contact, Mello took his pencil and wrote on the sheet of paper blindly. With his eyebrows hardening to a glare, the blond slid the note immediately toward the gamer. Matt noted, impressed, that the chocoholic had both written in a straight line and perfectly equal to the constant distance between their responses on the paper. He, however, was not as impressed with the note itself.

**_It doesn't take THAT long to go to the restroom, Matt._**

A bit of sweat formed on his neck which he tried his hardest to ignore as he scrawled a response onto the paper.

**I went to the restroom and that was it. It was night, so how can you even tell me how long I was in there?**

He ended the note with another sad-looking smiley and passed the paper back to his friend. Instead of getting the apologetic response he had (stupidly) expected, Mello's eyebrows scrunched and the boy's thin lips pulled into a frown. He watched the boy's elegant fingers press an angry note into the paper, effectively mauling the pencil lead by the time his response was done.

**_Well, whatever. If you're going to be like this, then enjoy yourself._**

He looked up at Mello, who instead of simply turning around to face the front of the room once more to wait for the next teacher, backed up his chair and left Matt to sit at his desk in silence. A part of Matt's chest slumped and he turned to watch Mello's ankles as he left, too shocked to be able to bring himself to cast his gaze up any farther.

_'Be like this'? What's he mean by this? What does he think I did?_

Question upon his lips, he turned to face the seat beside him, only to remember it had been emptied a few seconds before. Across the room, Mello had left him to sit alone while he talked with Skye and Terra during their seven-minute break where the teachers switched classrooms. He continued to gaze intently at the trio until Terra's eyes met his, an apologetic expression filling both their eyes. He watched as the slight boy tried to tell Mello to go back to his old seat and include Matt. The blond shot down the suggestion with a glare and continued to speak. Matt sighed and slumped into his chair.

Well, at least they had time off tonight after their specialty classes. If Mello was still acting like this, then maybe he'd go see Panda instead. He did say he would, after all...

_I'm sure he'd never act like this toward someone without plausible reason._

Turning his head back to the board, he proceeded to stare at the whiteness for the next few hours. Mello refused to speak to him so he ended up daydreaming as he spaced out of and tuned out everything in the area until class was over. Before he knew it, he was ordered to grab his things and was ushered out of the classroom by a passively persuasive Near.

With Mello still ignoring him, he trudged up the stairs to his room after Near and retrieved his SP from the its spot under his bed. He grabbed a game a headed out, shoving the black and gray cartridge into the slot on the bottom of the console. Flipping switch, he walked down the hall and hummed quietly to the ending note of the power on tune under his breath. Soon, the bright start screen of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories flashed before his eyes. Finally settling down into the couch in the front room, Matt zoned into the world of Castle Oblivion and proceeded to kick Pretty-In-Pink Marluxia's ass four times in twenty minutes.

After the seventh run, he grew bored. Seeing that there was no one in the area, he decided to duck the couch and into the secret passage to Panda's room. The cold of the tunnels assailed his skin under the red and gray striped shirt he was wearing. he had left his jacket inside his and Near's room and didn't think of going back for it before visiting the detective.

Matt ascended three sets of familiar ladders before he crawled through the last tunnel of empty space; the giant, dimly lit half circle of the blue clock cast its shadow over a great majority of the room. This time when he entered the room, he'd actually retained both his socks. Of course, he had tied them together and stuffed them deeply into his favorite pair of dark cargo pants with the zip-up pockets, so there was no way they'd fall out without Matt actually putting effort into setting his belongings up to do so.

"Welcome back."

Panda's familiar spread into a genuine smile and the corners of his eyes wrinkled up slightly as his gaze fell upon Matt. The redhead blushed from the sudden attention and made his way comfortably to the bed beside the man.

"Hey," he grinned lazily in response.

Mentally tired beyond belief, he plopped down on the white sheets and instantly collapsed, rolling onto his side. He sniffed the air with a certain curiosity and instantly realized he was smelling-

"Is that coffee?"

He sat up and leaned forward to join the detective in his Panda Stance while facing the table. On said table sat a small cup of coffee in a take-out cup. The brown and blue geometric patterns on the cup proudly displayed the name and logo of a local coffee shop located in the city where the children had their bimonthly expeditions.

"You are correct in your observation."

The muscles of his face shifted involuntarily into a smile. For once, he was having something other than tea with the man in the tower room.

"I'm just that good, aren't I?" he smirked cockily, bumping the man all in good fun.

Panda reached over and shuffled his hair. Matt simply squinted his face together and curled up slightly into the center of his body. Laughing, he brought his legs up to his chest and hugged them tightly, rocking back and forth happily until he intentionally fell over and bumped into the detective. The two shared another intimate laugh and Matt adjusted himself to normal position.

"Coffee?" the man offered.

"Of course, my liege," he joked as he took the cup in his hands, "if that is what you wish."

Matt took a sip of the coffee. Subtly chocolaty with bits of crushed peppermint in it: his favorite. He sighed with a contented smile while Panda eyed him with a bored, sarcastic, yet awkward expression sitting plainly on his face.

"What?" he grinned, bumping the man in the side, "Never been treated like faux royalty before?"

- -

Matt was curled up in the blankets against the wall. Panda was The snug whiteness of the sheets gave him a sense of disconnected floating, yet grounded him to the very moment he would be experiencing. In short, the atmosphere was surreal. Three candles glowed in the middle of the room, lulling his eyelids to droop and slide comfortably shut.

Dinner had come and gone. Mello had been in the library and refused to go eat, so Matt had brought the boy food and left without recieving so much as a thanks before he returned to the clock tower room to enjoy older company once more.

"So will you tell me exactly why you're here this time?"

It wasn't like he was actually expecting an answer, but Panda gave him one anyway.

"You have most likely aready guessed this: I am here because of reasons related to my ex-lover."

Matt smiled sadly as he recalled the way L had reacted the last time he had brought up his former lover. Not quite understanding why, he leaned closer to the detective. Soon, he was resting his arm against the older man's, contentedly nibbling at the remains of his sandwich.

"So you won't tell me about him?"

Panda gave him an exasperated wash with his eyes. The redhead leaned over and fell into the man's shoulder, resting his head there like it was the most natural thing in the world, like he had befriended nothing more than the average man instead of the world-renown investigator the man truly was.

"No, I will not," he concluded. "Well... just not today."

Matt grinned up and him and sank closer, the cold of the elevated room seeping through his blanket. Before he could reply to the man, a sneeze interrupted his attempt and his hand flew to his face. The older man wrapped an arm comfortingly around the younger boy's shoulder and pulled him closer.

"If you got sick, it would have been my fault."

The simple explanation was enough for the both of them. Outside, the coming winter darkness made him sigh with a certain detached breath. The fourteen-year-old yawned and popped his neck. Panda followed suit, doubling the noise in the air as they two of them relaxed into their seats.

"Well at least you told me why you're here," Matt continued, stopping the older man from changing the subject. "It's because of him, isn't it?"

A blank look filled Panda's eyes as the words sank into his skin. He rested his head on the wall along with his back. Legs stretched out awkwardly (a position that was normal for most people), he closed his eyes and began to speak.

"Yes, it is," the raven-haired man admitted, "and I still cannot fathom how you were able to extract such intimate information from me."

"I have my ways," the redhead grinned up at him, bumping the man once more.

Panda let out a mock-exasperated groan and bumped the boy back. Matt nudged him in the arm a third time only to get knocked over by the older man during his retaliation. To his dismay, Matt was quickly pinned to the bed and tickled attacked into submission. Panda chuckled as he watched the teen struggle to suppress his ticklish tendencies.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Matt chanted.

Writhing and kicking ineffectually while heaving large amounts of air between breaths seemed to be the only thing the gamer was able to fo at the moment. This seemed to somehow satisfy Panda for the time being because suddenly, the detective stopped. An expression of resigned sadness came over him. Matt's eyes never left his furrowed eyebrows. Perhaps, the brilliant man had sensed it, for he had begun to speak.

"You remind me of him," he murmured off-handedly, "always trying so hard to best me in some way, sometimes even winning... A relationship based on rivalry, almost. Almost." A sigh. "He always had to make the final move, the final decision..."

Throughout the quiet speech, the redhead had shut up and had tuned into watching the soft flames of the trio of candles dance lightly without the help of a breeze. His heart sank when the head of the House spoke the last words.

_Something happened to **him** - to Panda's ex-lover - and no one could stop it._

Unthinking, the boy grabbed one of Panda's paws and began tracing his fingers. The older man did nothing to protest, and Matt took that as a good sign. Humans need comfort and even Panda was human.

- -

The next day, Matt's classroom situation remained the same. Mello continued to ignore him and made it perfectly clear that he did not want Matt anywhere near him or the twins. Instead of stressing over the sudden aversion Mello had developed to his presence, Matt had turned to talking to his roommate that sat behind them in class, Near.

"You've been gone lately," the boy murmured as he slid the hard plastic wing of his self-made model airplane into place.

Matt smiled. At least someone had noticed.

"Yeah, Cotton Ball," he chuckled, "I've been gone."

He reached over and ruffled the boy's hair. It was soft and white, reminding him of a cloud. Actually, all of Near reminded him of a cloud. From the white silkiness of his apparel to the pale tones of his soft skin to the moon silk highlights that shone in his hair whenever the light hit it at a certain angle. If someone had given Matt the chance to name the boy, he had have ended up with a ridiculous name akin to 'Snow White'.

_Cotton Ball, the damsel in distress!_ he chuckled to himself.

Apparently, the action was too loud as Mello chose that exact moment to turn around and see Matt's chair turned and facing his rival. At the feeling of being watched, Matt turned around and knew the sounds of laughter had reached Mello's ear. Matt looked up to see the blond quietly boring holes into his being. With an apologetic smile, he turned back around and continued his conversation with the pale boy.

"Where have you been?" the boy instantly inquired, skipping the formal invitations.

"Well," Matt paused, "I've been with Mello...?"

Obviously, Near didn't buy it. However, he was smart enough to know that it was something you did not prod further into.

"Whoever you've been meeting is probably too important. It's a safety thing, I understand."

Just as Matt was about to respond, the door to the classroom opened and their next teacher, Sapientia, walked in. She took her place unceremoniously at the front of the class, sitting down directly on the teacher's desk instead of behind it. With a sharp look, she ordered Mello back to his seat where the blond crossed his arms and pretended like the air around Matt simply did not exist.

_The lovely Sapientia teaching Latin._ **(2)**

In al truth, Sapientia was probably his favorite teacher. Although she had a reputation for being one of the strictest members of the faculty in the entire House, she was by far the coolest teacher there. No one knew anything of her background other than the fact that she was professional thief before she came to live in the House.

"Alright," Sapientia called out at the front of the class, grabbing a hair tie and shoving the dark cascades of her long black hair into a less-than-tidy ponytail, "everyone get out a sheet of paper. We're going to examine the _Carmina Burana. _Hurry up and be ready by the time I'm done passing these out... C'mon, hurry it up or someone's losing a reproductive organ!"

And _that_ was why she was Matt's favorite teacher.

She danced around the room, tossing a copy of 'A Collection of Latin Literature' onto each desk.

If one couldn't already tell by the way she presented herself, she was the dancing, acting, singing professional thieving expert Latin teacher. Of course, she taught Latin as her main course, led theater as her interest course, and mentored aspiring professional thieves on the weekends and was known as one of the busiest staff members of the entire House.

All employees of the House needed to be multi-talented in at least three specialties or needed to be exceptionally skilled in two. As usual, teachers were found in the same method the students were picked out. However, with the need to remain inconspicuous, the House often hired people from underground thieving networks to teach as opposed to searching orphanages. As an education establishment associated with L, the House had connections. And the fact that the instructors were paid plenty did help somewhat with the chances of the chosen individuals with actually accepting. Besides, what could be better than passing on their skills to brilliant children? Just because they were underground didn't mean they were corrupted.

Just inconspicuous.

_Kind of like Panda,_ the boy thought, resting his chin on his crossed arms before his face.

A ruler snapped onto his head, and he rubbed the sore spot with three tentative fingers only to have the digits slapped again.

"Pay attention, Matt," Sapientia snapped, her musical voice ringing throughout the classroom. Somewhere behind him, someone snickered. "Shut up, Flora."

The class chuckled long with the teacher as a girl near the back of the room turned a bright red and collapsed her head onto her folded arms. The boy sitting beside her gave her an awkward pat on the back and everything quickly returned to running smoothly until the end of class.

Matt sat, actually paying attention and taking notes for once instead of watching Mello out of the corner of his eye. Whenever he attempted to, he would see the blond eyeing him back with what he could categorize as anger. Even when the end of class has arrive, Mello had not spoken a single word to him.

Lunch was a lonely affair. Instead of eating with the twins and Mello, he sat beside Near and Linda, idly poking at his pasta, too dejected to even try sneaking glances at the blond several feet away.

_I just don't get it._

- -

Sitting in the bed that Panda was currently laying on, Matt hunched over, his elbows on his knees and his hands clasoed before him, his mind filled with swirls of thought that he could neither follow nor contain. In short, both halves of the odd pair were exhausted.

Outside, the sound of a game of soccer reached the uppermost area of the clock tower. Although the soundwaves barely made an impact on the noise level inside the somewhat large square room, the gently, constant buzz of excitement added to the soft, aqua light filtering through the glass of the giant clock itself painted a blue ambience over the room. Languid and flowing, the atmosphere made the silence almost bearable, if not for the multitude of busy signals firing through Matt's brain.

"So it's been three days now since I last had a real, verbal conversation with Mello..." the boy sighed, finally breaking the silence. "What am I supposed to do when he won't even look at me?"

Panda smiled lazily, bringing his hand to his forehead to rub his eyes. After he massaged the for a good minute, he let his hand fall back onto the mattress beside Matt.

"Perhaps you should minimize the length of the trips you take here. My hypothesis is that he feels threatened by your absence. Your talking to Near scares him into thinking he'd losing you."

"Are you asking me to leave?" the redhead frowned, "because all you have to do is come out and say it."

This made the older man chuckle and pat the boy on the arm.

"No, no, you misunderstand. I am simply offering a solution as opposed to sympathy." He gave Matt a flash of his seldom seen, unguarded smile. "Job hazard, I suppose."

Matt lay down on my bed beside the detective, his head resting on the man's shoulder. He fiddled with the hem of his gray and white striped shirt, the thin yet insulating material sliding over his fingers gently. Subconsciously, the redhead angled his body toward the detective's as they laid together in the bed. Panda pulled the blanket that was pushed messily against the wall to cover the both of them. Matt had skipped dinner and the leftover garbage of the food he'd been eating with Panda sat untouched on the table.

"Let's talk about something else," he spurted suddenly. "Anything, please. Anything that doesn't concern Mello..."

He could almost feel the expression on the detective's face soften as the man tightened his arm around the boy.

"Okay then," he complied, "what do you think of me telling you some of my stories from when I was your age?"

Panda reached over using the arm Matt wasn't lying across and ruffled the boy's hair soothingly, reassuring the validity of his offer. Seeing the instant smile on the teen's face was all the reassurance the man needed before he begun to tell his tale.

"What I am about to tell you about happened when I was fifteen, which would be about nine years ago."

_He's eleven years older than me..._

Panda cleared his throat lightly and brought his fingertip to his lips.

"I do not know if this will seem as a shock to you, but contrary to my deceptive appearances, I actually participate in competitive sports." He chuckled when he saw the look on Matt's face turn to one of incredulous belief. "I can play tennis and swim quite well.

"Watari forced me to learn once between cases and had the pool inside the building in the back grounds here built for me. In fact, the last time I visited the pool, it was just as nice as it was the day it was built. Of course, the marble statues in the entrance were commissioned only last year and the inside showers were built after I stopped living exclusively here, so those are obviously new.

"Anyway, I was swimming alone - something Watari had warned me against - and it was before the House was converted into a learning facility and my original two successors were still alive. I always swam with my eyes shut, so I naturally was not quite aware of where I was going. I should have opened my eyes, but the chlorine always stung them too much for me to try.

"My body began to tire out and I had a difficult time getting back to the edge of the pool. I tried raising my head above water, but my neck and back were too exhausted and I misjudged the feeling of the water level on my face. Instead of taking a breath of air, I took one of water that sent me into irrational panic. Blind, unthinking, and unable to breathe, I sank to the bottom of the pool, but not before one of my successors heard me flailing in the waters.

"I can only assume that he must have rescued me by himself, because I awoke to the feeling of lips pressed over mine, breathing into my mouth and lungs. He later told me that he knew I was not going to die that day..."

A far-off look glazed over Panda's eyes as he spoke and a thin, genuine smile spread lightly over his face.

"I told him that it never would have happened if I had a pair of goggles, that I would have been able to keep track of where I was in the pool by vision instead of misjudging my physical actions. I still remember how his green eyes sparkled suddenly as he heard those words.

"Even though the House always had students running around, I never had the chance ot stop and talk to one. Maybe I was too shy, but regardless of the reason, looking back on my life here it was like they all seemed to avoid me. Maybe they were even afraid of me, the child who never went to class with them but was always seen alone and thinking. I'm sure a few of them even laughed at my posture and habits. Children can be wicked like that and I am only glad that nearly no one from my years at the House are still here today.

"At any rate, that was how I first met my..." the man faltered at the word, "my second successor. In my mind, the two of us had not truly met until that day came about. The entire event was such a cliché. He saved my life and I thanked him, leading to more eventually. Thinking back on it now, that must have been the day I came to terms with my sexuality."

Matt's celery eyes widened a fraction at the easy statement. Had Panda just... did he truly mean to...

_Did Panda just tell me who his lover was?_

The boy looked up at the raven-haired man that lay beside him to see silent tears trickle down his cheeks. Matt put a hand to the man's chest and felt it rise and fall evenly, as if his heart was in no way connected to the tears that slid shamefully down the pale man's eyes.

Leaning over and resting his head directly on the man's chest, he could hear Panda's heart pounding, almost aching. The man wasn't emotionally disconnected, but rather he was simply fighting to control his breathing.

"L..." Matt whispered, unaware of the fact that he'd used the older man's name, "L... it's alright..."

Matt pressed his face into the creamy cotton of the detective's shirt and slipped a comforting arm over the older man, an attempt to protect his friend from whatever dreaded feelings he had resurrected at the moment. In turn, a white-clothed arm wrapped around his back and pressed him closer to the detective.

"He told me that I had more time to live," he whispered into Matt's red hair, "that he could see it and I had nothing to be afraid of. He said I need not fear death because the Gods of Death still had more time to give me."

Speechless, Matt burrowed his head into the crook of L's shoulder, holding the other man tightly and forgetting, for such a long time afterward, about his own mundane problems. Instead, they lay there for a long while, simply comforting one another with the reassurance of their presence.

Closing his eyes and pressing his head against the older man's chest, Matt relaxed and resorted to rubbing small circles into L's shirt with his thumb. Slowly, he listened to the older male's heartbeat slow to a calmer rate.

"I thought I could tell this story without faltering," he confessed, "but it seems as if I have only aroused something much too painful to bear."

Matt pressed his face against the older male's shirt and closed his eyes.

"You don't have to bear it alone," he whispered.

He could have sworn he felt a smile slip into those lips above his hair, but he did not dare look up. The feeling of another person's warmth beside him was soothing already to himself and he was sure that on some level it was helping Panda as well. He pulled the blanket up high on his face until it had sufficiently covered his cheekbones. His mind lingered on the older man's words, but instead of pressing into the matter any further, he simply lay there, comforting his friend until sleep took his body once more.

- -

Panda had woken him up early the next morning, ushering him down for breakfast twenty minutes before he needed to be down. Again, he sat with Linda and Near, only poking at the fruit on his plate and nibbling on the bread. Near had glanced at him quickly several times throughout the meal, obviously worried about his well being.

Getting through the classes during his day was a mundane affair and he paid only half attention to the teacher while his mind ran back and forth through what had happened the night before.

_Panda's lover was one of his successors. That means - assuming it the rumors are accurate - that he was with either A or B. No, but they say that A committed suicide from the pressure of being on top, above B... But A killed himself so long ago that for L to be acting this way just doesn't seem to fit. He did it when he was just a teenager. The timing for L's story might fit, but if A had someone to care for him romantically, then I'm sure he wouldn't try to off himself. Most people wouldn't at least. L pretty much said he met his lover when he was at that pool when he was fifteen. Maybe it was B that he met. That means that A might have committed suicide because B and L were together and he felt too lonely to bare it. But then they also say that B ran away from the House after A died._

_Those two must've felt like they were all alone in the House. They never had any company other than Watari, maybe Roger, L, and each other. That's too bland of an existence, if you ask me, even in a gorgeous mansion-school like this. Being on the top is hard. Mello knows that. Near knows that. I know that. _

_I'm sure the reason the House started taking in kids that had different talents was so that the children on the top would have a variety of peers and their be exposed to their personalities and interests. Didn't the House only used to accept kids that were intellectually gifted? I'm pretty sure that it was only in the last four years that they even started searching for children with other talents in the orphanage. I'm sure even the smart ones had hobbies though._

_Of course, Mello and Near are more reclusive than the vast majority of the House, but that is by choice. Still, even in their isolation, Near has Linda for company while Mello has Skye and Terra. Maybe emotionally and socially connecting, even when you don't realize it's happening, helps. I guess they learned from their first mistake and ended up accepting more students here after all._

_Still, there's the issue about L's lover. Was it B or A? A or B? I want to ask, but I don't know if I can. Would he even answer me? It was bad enough the first time around when he was telling me his story... I don't want him to have to feel that way again if he doesn't want to. I guess my answers will have to wait._

He looked down at his paper and at the notes he had stopped mindlessly taking several minutes ago. They looked rather neat, but he had not caught more than a few sentences here and there about the actual lesson itself. It wouldn't matter anyways, because all he had to do later was go through the textbook twice and he would be ready for any test they gave him. He looked up at the board and sighed as he realized that the room had emptied out and he was the last student left there. He quietly packed up and left, not particularly caring that he would be extremely late to his optional computer-programming elective that was only offered Thursday nights.

Making his way down the long hallway at a trudgingly slow pace, Matt finally reached the room for computer programming. Skye and Terra both turned their heads simultaneously and were watching the door intently long before the teacher had even realized that anyone was outside the classroom.

_Damn their good hearng,_ Matt sighed. _Well, it wasn't like I'd be able to get in anyway._

With a loud plop, Matt sank into his seat between the twins while the teacher chastized him for being late. He was only half-listening, nodding and responding with a quiet 'yes, sir' that frightened the twins beside him. Matt was never this... compliant.

Class passed quickly again and Matt sat in a soundless stupor. The Twins had tried talking to him but had no success as he barely heard them and did not bother responding. Instead, his mind was focusing on L.

Just L. It was all he could manage to do.

- -

"Where were you last night?"

Matt looked up from the spot on the floor that he had been staring at for the past few hours.

When he didn't answer, the little cotton ball momentarily looked at him with a blank interest as he fiddled with his new rubber finger puppet kit. Matt had bought it for him almost a month ago and he had only opened it tonight, the package's contents lined neatly in a row before the boy.

Their room was the standard large square with two beds pushed against opposite sides of the walls. Near's was solid white where as Matt's was a pattern of red, white, and black stripes of varying wavy thickness and shades of red. Standing from the door, Matt's bed would be the first one visible. From there, a three-foot stretch of wall would come forward before it spaced out into the rectangular room. That three-foot span along the wall was the room for the closet, a space the two roommates shared easily. Two short, three-drawer dressers that had been moved from their proper places along the opposite wall under the window and shoved inside the closet space to make for more open space.

On one of their trips, they had used a small portion of their spending money to purchase a round, decorative white rug with black edges to place in the middle of the floor for Near to lay on. The floor decoration actually matched the walls quite well in its monochromatic simplicity.

Judging by the look of the walls, anyone who did not know about its history would think that one or two artists had been living there. Instead, the wall was filled with portraits, sketches, designs, and line art done by Linda - Near's ever-persistent 'stalker'. Although she had other friends of the Arts, she always preferred Near's company to that of the artists. She would sit at his side for hours, asking simply if she could stay and draw him or something he had built in the Playroom. As a result of that, Almost the entire wall opposing their shared closet was covered in pictures. Personally, Matt's favorite was the vine-like sheet that was the inspiration for his SP design. It was the simplest thing on the wall, but somehow that made it the most likable.

Matt lay on his stomach, his legs bent and standing against the wall so that he could face Near to watch him make the puppets. He had spaced out as he watched the boy pour a small amount of powder from his kit package into a bowl Matt had gotten for him from the kitchen.

"Matt."

The boy decided not to look up from his mixing of the powder and the water with his left hand while his right hand was currently carving his custom design for his finger puppet into the malleable shape of the mould.

"Yes?" he responded, shaking himself out of his daydreaming state.

The pale boy looked up at him through the curls of his white hair. His shirtsleeve fell over his hand and dipped into the power and water mix, but Near didn't seem to care. Instead, he only looked back down, folded up his sleeve, and continued working on his new toy.

"I asked you where you were last night," he murmured, mixing the liquid intently as he did so.

"Oh," he replied lamely, scratching the back of his head, "I was at... I was at... err..."

_Near's trustworthy, but I need to keep L a secret._

The boy looked up again and locked eyes with his roommate on the bed. Matt squirmed under his intent gaze and turned his face downward to cough into the bed sheets.

"I'm sorry, Near, I can't tell you."

The younger boy slipped out his seldom seen smile and cocked his head to the right childishly as if he were consoling and comforting his roommate.

"You need not tell me if it makes you uncomfortable. At the very least, I could tell that you weren't with Mello. That certainly adds to the mystery, but I can see that you're not physically hurt so everything's okay for now."

As those words left Near's chalk-pink lips, Matt was sent through another mental dive into his thoughts and memories. It was already Thursday night and Mello still hadn't spoken to him since Monday. He had tried to hide his growing fear of losing their friendship, but where Mello had failed to see his true feelings Near had seemingly picked up on it. It was true that Matt generally got along better with Near that caused some people to wonder about who Matt's real best friend was. Still, something about Mello had always kept Matt stuck to his side like super glue. Parting with the boy would be a long and painful process that involved some kick, scratching, biting, and even tearing.

_Ouch._ Matt mentally winced from the thought. **_Tearing_**_._

He watched Near give the powder and water mixture a final few stirs and then set the finger puppet into the mould.

Deciding that he was thirsty after a few minutes, he got up to go downstairs in the kitchen for a water bottle. There would be no visiting Panda, for the previous night's happenings clearly had a lasting effect on the older man when he had requested that he be left alone for the next night.

"I'll be back," Matt called behind him as he got up off his bed and strode to the door, "so don't lock up yet, alright?"

"Alright," Near responded softly.

Matt turned to open the door as the younger boy had responded, only to find a somewhat alarmed Mello standing there. He looked back at Near, but the boy did not bother to look up as his current attention was going toward his finger puppets and pouring the liquid into his finished mould. Turning back to face the blond, Matt found that he was already making his way to a room in the opposite direction of his own a few feet away. The sign on the door read "Skye and Terra," decorative and neatly carved thanks to Terra's talent with his hands.

Mello shot him a lingering glare before he entered the twins' room telling the redheaded gamer not to follow inside. With a sigh, Matt walked the other direction in the hallway, talking the slightly longer route to get to the stairs to go down to the dining room.

_He heard me talking to Near again,_ Matt thought fleetingly as he descended down the steps.

Entering the room, he turned immediately to his right to lift the lid of the red and white chest and rescued an icy bottle from its chilly home. He twisted the cap off the bottle and took a deep drink from it, not caring that some of the cold water was seeping down his forearm and onto his shirt.

"Matt."

With a slight shock, he nearly dumped all of the water from his lips to his body and turned around to see the timid Terra standing behind him. The boy giggled and swiped his hair out of his eyes as Matt reached down to retrieve the leaking water bottled from the floor before capping it and setting it atop the ice chest.

"Yeah?" he asked, wiping his hands off on his cargo pants.

Without thinking, he stripped off his shirt and began wiping the wooden floor with it, effectively and unconventionally drying the wooden floorboards. The icy water numbed his fingers through the shirt, making him shiver reflexively as he flipped the shirt over to wipe the floor once more.

"What are you doing here?" the gamer interrogated, his voice coming out harsher than he meant for it to sound. Wincing, he softened up his tone to ask, "does Skye know?"

Terra smiled kindly at him, and stepped to the spot beside Matt so that his's rainbow socks interrupted Matt's constant vision of dark wood colors. Those were the socks Matt had laughingly bought the boy for his birthday last year back when Terra offhandedly mentioned that he wished his world had more color. Being the great friend that he was, Matt went out and bought them.

"I told them I was going to the restroom and entered through one door and slipped out the other. You wanted to talk to you."

"Me?" Matt asked, disbelieving.

"Yes," the boy chuckled, "of course you."

He paused for a moment and looked up at the brunet standing standing at his side. Off handedly he noted that Terra's hairstyle had gotten to be a bit longer than he normally kept it, the sillky-looking strands brushing his shoulders in uneven lengths. The pencil he had behind his left ear was now poking out from between the strands rather than how they used to block them from falling into the pale boy's face.

"Alright then," Matt looked up into the boy's hazel eyes, "what do you want to talk about?"

Terra took in a calm breath and stared back down at Matt with unusual confidence.

"Mello isn't mad at you."

For a moment, Matt stopped rubbing at the floor. He turned and looked at the boy standing beside him, hands pinching nervously at the hem of his shirt like he always did when he was around Matt.

_"What?"_

He realized with a little astonishment that his thoughts had accidentally translated into words that he had nearly shouted at the slighter boy. Terra was strangely unfazed by Matt's momentary shock and simply repeated himself.

"I just wanted to tell you that Mello's not mad at you, okay?"

He ended the conversation awkwardly and abruptly with a quick, dance-like pivot of his heel. Terra stepped out into the hallway once more and hurried back up the stairs, disappearing as suddenly as he had appeared.

_Maybe they're both meant to be thieves,_ he wondered, impressed by how soundlessly the smaller boy moved.

Matt craned his head out into the empty hallway and watched the teen leave quickly up the stairs, wincing at the sound of the boy almost tripping on the second to top step.

_Or not._

The redhead looked down at his ruined shirt and sighed.

_Mello's not mad? Then he shouldn't be acting like this. It's misleading to the point of wanting to tear my hair out, that silly idiot._

Part of him wanted to return to Panda's room, but he would have been imposing on the man's hospitality if he did so. Besides, L was the one that had said he needed some times. If that was what he needed, Matt would gladly give it to him, so instead of giving in, he simply folded his now wet shirt on his arm and picked out three more water bottles from the ice chest before returning to his room. Near would be needing something to drink soon anyway.

Heading up the stairs, he carried the four objects awkwardly and headed to his room.

- -

"Friday," Matt breathed, laughing as he rolled around in his bed.

Classes were over for the week and the redhead wanted nothing more than to relax. Normally, this would have called for some quality time with Mello, but the redhead found himself unable to do such a thing. Even with Terra's informative input the other day, nothing had changed between Matt and Mello. Of course, magic like that never happened overnight, Matt was well aware of that, but the fact that Mello had been ignoring him all week was infuriating. The evanescent feeling of relief was quickly replaced by a nagging annoyance.

_Was it because of the note? Because I wouldn't tell him? This isn't the first time I've had nothing to say regarding one of his questions... He's never been so dramatic about it before._

He remembered the way Mello had looked from across the room. he had snuck quick glances over at the blond during their breaks today and ended up with nothing. Terra, on the other hand, would shoot him apologetic glances and return to politely listening to whatever it was Skye and Mello had been talking about. He'd been too afraid to try to talk to Mello. The boy was like a sleeping time bomb. If you pressed the wrong buttons, he would start his inevitable countdown to blow up in your face. Matt knew from watching that once Mello blew up at someone, friendship could never be salvaged again.

Slapping at memory aside, Matt propped himself up on his bed again and looked around his room. He grabbed his SP from its place in the corner, disconnecting the charging cord and slipping the console into his jacket pocket. In a flurry of movement, he was out of his room and down the stairs, heading with conviction toward the front room entrance. Heading down two flights of stairs passed quickly as the teen only had his goal in mind. Only half aware of his actions, the crimson-haired boy flicked the power switch to his game and the sound of Kingdom Hearts floated into the air. Without looking, he selected Riku's Story to play and made his way down the hall past Roger's office.

Suddenly, the door of the office opened and the man who operated the House stepped out into the hallway.

"Matt," he almost exclaimed, "I was just about to go looking for you."

The redhead frowned unnoticably.

"Well, sir, I'm here now. Did you need me for something?"

He quickly shut his Gameboy and slipped it into his pants pocket and began to fiddle with the sleeve of his shirt as he followed Roger into his office. Like the rest of the House, Roger's Office was the same dark shade of cherrywood. There was more room in this part of the House than seemed necessary, but no one ever complained. It wasn't like the room here took away from the space of other rooms inside the House.

It always smelled like coffee and cinnamon in the Office, almost like the place was an entirely different home in its own right. In the back of the left side of the room was a door that led to the space that most people assumed was where Roger slept. Some kids thought that maybe there was a whole bathroon and kitchen in there because of the herb garden that was closed off outside that no one was allowed to go into. Bushed lined that section of the House quicte thickly so no one could ever truly judge the space that was behind the door. Because there was a balcony on the girl's part of the dorm that overlooked that section of the herb garden, no one could ever go to a higher floor and try to look out.

The inside of the office space was large and unnecessarily filled with many books. Matt knew that Mello had never gotten a chance to go through them but could easily imagine the boy thumbing through them for hours on end. Most of the titled included the words 'Child Psychology' in their title or subtitle. Come to think of it, Matt could see Skye pouring over the books as well. The the atheletic twin and Mello would probably quiz each other later. Well, it was more likely that Mello would be doing the quizzing and studying.

_Mello..._

The name echoed in his head prompting a sad smile from his lips. When he saw the look on Roger's worried face, he quickly wiped the smile out of his features and returned ot a neutral expression of aloofness.

"Where are you headed?" the man asked gently as soon as they had shut the door.

"To the clock tower room?" Matt replied, uncertain. "Why? Is something wrong?"

He saw some sort of pained expression cross over the man's face and quickly disappear.

"Well... nevermind. You are dismissed."

"Uhh... yes, sir?"

Younger children ran past him, excited to go outside and play in the little bit of daylight that was left for the next two hours. Unable to bring himself to share their excitement, Matt sat down on the couch and stared intently at the bright screen of his SP. Soon, the area had cleared out again and he ducked behind the couch and entered the hidden passageway for the fifth time that week.

He called out the older man's name toward the other end of the tunnel as he neared the round entrance to the hidden tower room. Receiving no reply, he forced himself to intrude on the detective's privacy and stepped into the room. He froze in place at the sight of the room before him.

Well, more like what the room was lacking.

The head of the House had upped and left the tower room and the bed was back to the way it had looked the week before, perfectly cold and untouched. The water heating plate he'd had with him was gone and the computers were shut down. Matt walked slowly to the table that held the electronics and laid the back of his hand against the vents in the equipment. They were cold. He looked around, a dull, heatless sensation filling his chest. Almost everything was back to the way it had been. The only thing that even indicated that a person had been here in the past few days was the sugary smell that filled the air and the note on the table.

_Wait. Note on the table?_

In contrast to the cold room, on his the table beside the bed sat an envelope with an ornate M scripted onto the middle. Matt sat down on the small bed and carefully opened the envelope seal. Just as he foolishly expected, inside was a letter addressed to him.

**_Matt:_**

_Please forgive me for leaving you earlier than I had predicted and without any forewarning. Keeping the memories inside me was simply too much to bear two nights ago, because when I had told you my story opened up what I thought to be healed wounds. Still, to even think that I would be functional in such a short time would be ludicrous._

_Luckily, I see no problem in informing you that I am still within the property of Wammy's House. If you wish, you may come find me. To make the search easier for you, I have given you a rather obvious clue as to where my next three locations are._

_Although I do not expect for you to find me tonight, I surely hope that as the third place child in the House, you will be able to find me rather quickly. (This is a challenge, if you have not figured it out yet.) Understand that the task of finding the hidden rooms is more than half the work and often more complex than just one simple puzzle._

_Your time limit will be until I am off to solve another case again, in which case I will be returning to a location I can never, under any circumstances, disclose to you. Can you see where I am coming from? Doubting your own abilities would be a sad mistake on both our parts, because I sincerely believe you will be able to find me. _

_Right now, still probably are not looking for the hidden message yet. Have you already found the first clue or have you found them all yet? 'Yes' would be the preferred answer to the latter question, but my logic says that you have not._

_Only when you finish this letter will you be able to see what I have hidden here. Everything is systematically laid out to the point where a single glance could give you the first clue without revealing everything._

_Obscure yet obvious clues of the same nature - it is all I have to offer you as of this moment. Now let us hope that you can find me soon and we can talk face to face once more._

_Matt, I just want you to know that your continued friendship would mean more to me than what you can imagine to be emotionally and that I am grateful that you found this room and found me._

**_L_**

He stared at the ornate L that sat at the bottom of the page. The letter was hand-written and actually in surprisingly neat handwriting. The head of the House held his forks in a strange manner that Matt assumed was also the way he wrote - between two pinched fingertips lookng like he had little or almost no control over the strength of accuracy of how he could press.

Matt did a second sweep of the letter, his eyes falling to the first few lines like magnets withint seconds. The boy chuckled at the blatantly obvious first clue.

_P-L-A-Y-R-O-O-M. L, are you serious?_ he laughed.

Who could miss that? Even though the empty feeling still lingered in his chest, he was able to smile at the notion of even having a single clue that led him to secret rooms in the House. His mind wandered along the possibility of even finding one of the rooms and he cheered inwardly at the thought of seeing L again.

_Seeing L again._

Had he really just become more excited over L than he was over Mello? Well, it's not like there was anything particularly wrong with that…

Matt sighed, plopping down onto the bed and laying down. He flipped over and breathed in deeply, the scent of lingering sugar seeping into his senses. It was comforting feeling, almost like the man himself was embracing him as he pulled the neatly folded blanket over his body. He snuggled into the slowly warming sheets, ignoring the nagging feeling in the back of his head that told him this behavior could be potentially dangerous. Instead, he wrapped himself inside the blankets tighter almost like the inanimate cloth was holding and cradling him with the utmost care a mother would give her newborn.

_What if I can't find L? What if he moves on to a new case before i can see him again? What if... but do I even matter that much to him? And how much does he matter to me? What **is **he to me?_

He lay there for a long while, the letter sitting on the table in front of him, lost in contemplation. The familiar feel of the entire room pressed into every one of his senses, almost drowning his thoughts in an overload of L.

_What were we to each other? Friends? That was for sure, but what kind? This definitely isn't a father-son kind of relationship. To think that would be ridiculous considering how we've both grown up without parents. Of course, that doesn't mean that parentless kids don't grow up to become successful parents themselves, but that just doesn't fit us. _

Matt rolled over and faced the wall.

_Then is this brotherly love? He is old enough to be a brotherly figure to me, after all... But no, this isn't like how Skye and Terra are with each other. They're more... more something else. This is different from what they have. And I know for a fact that this isn't hero worshipping either. What **is** this? Is there such thing as just simple friendship?_

Finally, he pulled out his SP from his pocket and began playing, his arms cramped close to his face from the blanket's flexible walls. He watched the screen of his game intently, losing himself in his thoughtless mind as he guided the little silver-haired antihero around the screen to collect more red and green spheres that were bouncing around the room. He smiled to himself as Riku plowed through another group of Heartless on the screen.

The constant button pressing and the repetitive music of the game lulled him into a more peaceful state. With his mind relaxed and tuned into the game, his thoughts came more logically, more rationally.

_So him and I are friends. I can just label us as so.... __No, no. We don't need a label. We shouldn't have a label because t__he name of whatever it is that we share doesn't matter,_ he decided, licking his lips.

With that final thought in his head, Matt rose up out of his coccoon-like bundle and folded the blankets neatly to the position they were in before his interrupture. Tidying the room, he exited the space thorugh the tunnel and began his trip back down to the ground floor.

Tomorrow, he would go to the Playroom with Near. Of course, there was the plan of exactly _how_ he was going to pull off casually searching the room while the top kid of the House was in the same room as him, but that could wait.

_All that's important is that I will definitely see L tomorrow. I'll make sure it happens._

* * *

**(1) **Erm... Please excuse the note from the bestie. I got up and she took over. :O  
**(2) **Sapientia means "wisdom" in Latin.

I know a LOT happened in this chapter, so for the people who got confused by my time skips, **Monday to Friday passed in this chapter**. **Monday** was the morning with Mello and his talk with L, **Tuesday **was the day in the classroom with Near, **Wednesday **was L telling Matt his story, **Thursday **was Matt being confronted by Near and Terra, and **Friday **was L's note.

Anyone looking for an amazing MattxMello oneshot should try "Almost Lover" by Cerise Murmur. It's pretty much the most **emotionally perfect **thing I've ever read. :)

_~Bisous, Minikimii_


	4. House Hunting

Disclaimer: Death Note belongs to Ohba and Obata.  
Note: There's a plot discrepency between this story's timeflow and the beginning chapters of L's Diary. If you're reading this story and L's Diary, then please take note that the timeline of this story's events will trump those listed in L's Diary.

I'm sorry about the incredibly late update. I had meant for this chapter to be posted on Valentine's Day (wow, right?), and schoolwork was originally my reason, but now... I can't even come up with an excuse. The truth is, writer's block plus inspiration in another fandom equals neglect. Awful equation, isn't it? **But the ending of this chapter is something I've been wanting to write for months now.** Therefore, I guarantee it to be something definitely intrigueing.

* * *

**Cake, Cards, Chocolate, and Cigarettes  
**House Hunting

Saturdays were always quiet. The House would close up on itself, resting its exhausted classrooms and opening up the seldom-visited playroom and grounds for the children to use all day. All work and no play generally made the younger inhabitants of the House overexert themselves from the want to make a good impression on the new environment while the older inhabitants blatantly refused to listen and kill themselves over unnecessarily complicated work.

Matt liked Saturdays because his were usually brimming with vigorous physical exercise as he spent most of his day out in the field with Mello until the boy felt he needed to go off and study. Today, however, was a different story altogether starting the moment that Matt has risen from the bed two hours later than usual, which meant he woke when his cotton ball, cue tip, fluffily cloudlike roommate did.

Cotton Fluff always woke soundlessly, sitting up like a young child and rubbing his eyes with his hand hidden beneath his oversized shirtsleeve. Then the younger boy's body would collapse against the wall as he stretched his arms upward and yawned with a suppressed parting of his lips that was barely detectable by anyone with an untrained eye. Then, stepping out of bed, the boy would do his morning stretches and take his toothbrush from out of his nightstand and head off to the bathroom.

The gamer only knew these things because he would watch Near do them before he got up. It was adorably captivating how his other closest friend was so different from his chocoholic crush. Maybe if he hadn't been so completely taken by the blond's personality, he could have fallen for the childish genius instead.

"Can I hang out with you today?" the redhead asked as he spit out his last mouthful of toothpaste, the minty feeling of breathing in after using such a strong hygienic product wafting through his nasal passages brought a clear smile to his face before he received a verbal answer to his question.

"Sure," his snowy-haired roommate replied as he tucked his sleeves back and washed the toothpaste froth off his hands. "I haven't had a chance to talk to you for such a long time. I've missed the late-night chats we used to have."

Matt nodded in agreement, following the other boy back to their shared room to drop off their things and dress to go to breakfast. All Matt had to do was pull on a striped top and he was ready. Ever since that last night with Mello, he had fallen into the habit of sleeping shirtless. The feel of his skin against the sheets was a sort of stimulating experience and even though he hated to admit it, he enjoyed the dreams they would sometimes evoke.

"Playroom?" Near asked, his one-worded shyness coming through as they stepped into the semi-public hall of the boy's living quarters.

It had been a week since he had last seen L. For the past seven days, he had kept the letter in his pocket, occasionally pulling it out just to read the words again.

"Not yet," Matt laughed and gave Cotton Fluff's shoulder a light squeeze of reassurance that he knew what the boy was asking for. "I don't think my stomach's built to digest Lego's."

The boy grinned happily at the redhead's joke, the edges of his teeth showing somewhat from between his slightly parted lips. Matt knew for a fact that Near didn't eat toys, but he still liked to poke fun at the boy. As long as it was good-natured, Near didn't seem to mind what his roommate said. With a fraction of more confidence in his step, Near descended the stairs and headed toward the dining room, Matt following leisurely behind.

Breakfast passed quickly as the pair decided to only grab two muffins and two water bottles to bring with them to the playroom. Of course, Matt ended up having to smuggle the food in his jacket pockets, but it didn't matter so much. They were wrapped up in unfolded napkins anyway.

With the simple click of the door's unlocked metal stopper setting into its place within the wall, the pair sat down on the plush, carpeted floor and Matt uncovered their breakfast. It was hard to suppress the giggle that bubbled up when the redhead realized that Toy Boy ate muffins the same way he did; plucking apart chunks to stick in your mouth was just so much neater on the whole.

Still, he found himself somewhat glad that Near didn't hold a hand to catch crumbs from the piece of muffin he had torn off and was placing into his mouth. If he'd done that, then Matt knew he would start to wonder at why Mello had liked him so much as opposed to Near in the first place. Maybe living with the albino child was rubbing different sorts of habits that Mello didn't like onto him?

_Naw, that can't be it, _he reasoned, _because I've had those habits from since before I came here._

Dwelling on Mello inadvertently carried the gamer's mind to thoughts of L. He needed to being discretely searching the room without Near's noticing. That would only be possible if he helped Near get some toys together to distract the younger boy as he scoured the walls of the room for any irregularities.

_Even though he's the top scoring kid here and spends all his free time here, I doubt Near has actually found the entrance to the room. He's always too wrapped up in his own toy land to look up and around any area he's in._

Exercising a bit of caution, Matt turned and walked toward the blue and white wooden toy chest against the wall by the fireplace. As he neared the wall, Matt could hear music from the adjacent Music Room playing a cheery, upbeat tune. He groan lightly at the venture of his epic search and having such a mood of music accompany the utter thrill that would come from the search and discovery itself.

_But when I find the door, I'll have to wait to open it. Damn._

He sat down and had a long, untouching examination of the toy chest before him as he popped another bite of muffin into his mouth. The hinted banana flavor of the bread slowly dissolved in his mouth and he opted not to chew on the piece but to rather let it sit until it was practically gone and had left only nuts in its place.

"So how've you been?" the redhead asked Near as he moved over so that his back was resting against the wall supportively.

The white-clad boy looked up from his muffin and straight into Matt's eyes, nodding once before he responded, "Not bad. How about you?"

"You know how things are with Mello." Near laughed at the statement - he knew all too well what Mello could be like. "You never get much more than the initial response as a reason and if you don't understand why he does something, he usually just tells you to suck it up and deal with it. It just kinda sucks to be on the receiving end of it for once."

They continued their conversation, Near fiddling with the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle while Matt inspected the room with his eyes. Although the walls looked relatively unblemished, there were a few spots of color that were impossible to paint over. Of course, the fastest way to actually find where L was staying would be to search it with his own two hands, but he doubted an opportunity to do so would come up so quickly. Those kinds of coincidences never happened to him.

_Because meeting L was so not a coincidence…_ a voice in his head chortled sarcastically.

Okay, well _maybe_ coincidences did happen to him. Maybe that meant he would have great luck in actually getting an opportunity to look for the room? Highly unlikely, still. Based on logical reasoning, luck didn't exist. Everything that was happening to him so far was from random chance or highly time-consumingly elaborate orchestrated plots.

_I doubt the latter's the case, but you could never tell with the quiet ones. Near could always be up to something like starting a nuclear war… Naw. He's too inactive to try such a thing. _Matt chuckled._ That sounds more like it would be Mello's forte._

"Matt, I can't find one of my puzzle pieces."

The redhead looked up from the spot on the floor he had been staring at during his musings. Near must have counted and calculated that he was missing a piece to his favorite blank, white puzzle with the ornately scripted "L" in the corner that Linda had drawn on for him. Someone must have been trying out his puzzle because Near never lost anything. He remembered exactly when and where he placed things, regardless of their importance. His silent demeanor and incognito air made him focus more on his surroundings and his

The boy sat, scrunching his body protectively into a little ball on the floor like a turtle in a shell trying to protect itself from nature's horrors. His dark gray eyes scrutinized the corners of the room in a slow side-to-side scan. The sigh told Matt that he truly was both unable to locate the piece anywhere in plain sight and that he was reluctant to get up from his spot.

"Do you want me to find it?" he offered.

"That would be appreciated."

_And this could be the perfect opportunity. Everything just seems to be working out for me, doesn't it?_

Getting up from his spot, he began his search around the white and blue walls of the playroom. Starting at the toy chest, he rummaged around inside the box that matched the room's decor, removing all of the boxes of neatly organized toys from their wooden home and onto the floor. He went through all twelve of the boxes, meticulously searching each one as if his life depended on it.

Two hours later, he looked up to see that he was alone in the room. Beside his foot sat a note written in small, neat handwriting.

_Matt, you looked bored so I asked you to search for something I hadn't lost. Yes, I wasted your time, but it wasn't like I didn't notice you looking around the room like you were really searching for something. I left so I could give you some privacy. The door might be locked, but that doesn't give you the permission to get too carried away._

_-Near_

Matt turned around to look toward the door behind him. The hallway was closed off from his sight. He got up to stretch his legs, his joints popping loudly in the process. As much as some people hated that noise, just because something popped didn't mean it would hurt.

He looked around the room once more and walked over to double doors to try the knobs. Just as Near has said, the cold metal didn't budge. Satisfied, Matt looked back into the room behind him. Starting with the wall beside him, he ran his fingers along the perfect wallpaper with his eyes closed so he would be able to focus more on his sense of touch than having his sense of sigh distract him. After what felt like another hour of vigorous searching, he opened his eyes, dizzy from the long period of blindness.

As soon as he recovered, his eyes once again landed on the empty toy chest. Something just felt off about the way the chest had looked and felt. Trusting his intuition, he crossed the empty room once more to examine the chest once more. After searching around the chest's vicinity a few times and turning up empty-handed, he decided to move the box to see what was underneath. Bracing himself, he began pushing the toy chest only to be met by the friendly face of failure.

_Seriously, this is getting old._

He sat down, frustrated at the attempt to move the large container. With a depressed sigh, he leaned on the chest closed his eyes. To his immense surprise, the chest moved quite easily and slid up, propping itself on its side so that the bottom of the chest was now facing the flustered redhead.

_If I didn't know any better, I would say that Lady Luck is in love with me._

Matt quickly slammed the chest back down into its normal position. Hastily, he drew the curtains over the playroom windows and checked once more to make sure that the doors were locked. After he had drawn the curtains, he returned to the toy chest and lifted it up.

Against the floor had sat a deck of cards strapped to the slightly raised bottom of the toy chest. Matt pressed his fingers against the hard plastic container they came in and popped it out of its notch. Beneath the cards was a small, raised circle painted the same color as the wood of the chest. He pressed the button on the bottom of the chest and a slight clicking noise sounding behind him.

He turned around to see the fireplace move.

"Congratulations, Matt," a calm voice spoke from somewhere within the darkness.

He into the long space that was built inside wall between the Music Room and Play Room. On the opposite end of the hall sat L in a cushy-looking chair holding a book in his left hand as he reached for a cup of tea with his right. Without moving a single step forward, Matt narrowed his eyes at the man and crossed his arms.

"What?" he asked, a smile on his thin, pale lips.

The redhead stared at Panda with dead sarcastic eyes. They held gazes for an extended minute, each other their expressions practically throwing thousands of words at one another. Finally, Matt blinked a few times in succession and coughed into his fist, breaking the silence.

"This," he crossed his arms exasperatedly, "is the lamest and most cliché place to have a secret room built… ever."

L's face dropped and narrowed into a playful glare when the words finally reached his ears.

"Surely it can not be that ba-" he began to protest.

"No, L." The redheaded gamer rubbed his hand over his forehead, tired and sighing. "Worst. Place. Ever."

- -

Quietly, Matt slipped out of the playroom and into the hallway. He pocketed the deck of cards and slid down the quiet passages of the first floor hallways like a thief within the walls of a royal castle during the dead of the night. L had given him enough fruit (sans honey, thank God) to last for a few days.

"Where were you?"

He didn't need to process the words as the albino cream puff practically asked with his eyes his as he slipped back into his room well after dinner had begun. It was obvious Matt had eaten, but not in the dining room like everyone else had, so he chose to ignore the silent, questioning glance the boy threw his direction. As usual, Near knew when to drop the subject.

And also as usual, Near began a newer and more uncomfortable one.

"So. Mello."

Matt cringed and Near nodded as if he'd won some epic battle against an unusually resistant enemy. Was he really that easy to read? Maybe it was time to stop wearing his heart on his sleeve… actually, it probably would only prevent the people who didn't know Matt from being able to tell what mood he was in.

"What about Mello?" he ventured, trying hard not to let his voice crack and slip into a dark place of no return.

"He's still not talking to you," Near pointed out, almost coldly.

Matt sighed.

The white-haired boy looked up at him and his eyes softened until they radiated apology.

"Thank you very much, Near, but I'm already aware of that."

Biting and scathing undertones fell to the ground dead in his voice. Such a tone had frightened even the normally antisocial ball of fluff into realizing the way his comment had sounded. Matt instantly regretted his choice of tone when he saw the shocked look hidden behind Near's usual mask of aloof calm.

"He's not mad at you," the younger boy amended.

_That's what Terra said. _

"How do you know?"

Near shot him an expression that told Mello that the answer was quite obvious and that he'd pretty much just had a temporary mind implosion. With a giggle from Matt's facial expression, Near turned back to his toys and continued to amuse himself.

"Linda's friends with Terra," he supplied in a quieter volume. "Art class. They talk a lot."

"Oh."

A few moments of awkward silence passed over them, in which case Matt turned away from his roommate and finally decided to go to sleep. It was too early to turn in for the night, but he needed to get away from the conversation. He plopped down onto his bed and curled up in the red and black sheets, pulling up the thick cloth around him until it became warm and lulled him into the familiar false comfort it had always provided.

- -

He visited L more and more frequently for the next few weeks. Half way in between, the detective had moved from the playroom to the secret room whose entrance was inside the kitchen fridge and to Roger's office. It was at this last location where he lost L; the older man simply didn't offer the redhead any clues as to where his next location would be. It was frustrating to be in the company of greater intelligence and not be able to apply himself like he was capable of. Truth was, he'd been acting lazy and a bit stupid for too long and had almost forgotten how to interact in an intellectually mature manner.

Hey, if it got him off the hook, then he might as well keep doing it.

But there was something that constantly bothered him about his visits to L: He was forgetting about Mello. Although it was true that Mello was his best friend, his love interest, and… well, just Mello, being with Panda made him feel like he could just forget everything. Instead of focusing on how miserable he was feeling, he focused on L's facial expressions when he looked at a fresh slice of cheesecake or whenever the tea he made was too hot for his sensitive tongue.

Had he been in a clearer state of mind, Matt could say that he was border-lining obsession. But his pride kept him in check and he was sure the new interest he took in L had gone unnoticed.

(Truth is, it didn't.)

- -

"Matt, what's wrong with you?"

The redhead looked up from his desk to see an empty classroom and an angry Sapientia staring him down.

"I… I don't know…"

"What do you _mean_ 'I don't know'? I'm not an idiot!" she fumed. "You're not an idiot either. If anyone here's an idiot at all it's the people who are here for their art skills, not their intellectual capabilities. And even then, their IQs have to top at least 150 to be allowed through that door!"

Sapientia's vaguely present Italian accent made her voice seem all the more angry. Matt sighed and his Latin teacher pulled up a chair opposite him and looked worriedly into his eyes. A part of Matt told him that he should probably stop looking, that he should probably just turn away and leave without saying a word. Then again, Matt never really found Sapientia threatening; she was his favorite teacher after all…

"Matt, talk to me. You're my best student and you're failing this class now… Please, you're scaring me."

And Matt _was_ her favorite student.

"It's… Mello."

"You like him," Sapientia smiled kindly, taking the redheaded boy into her arms, "and he's been ignoring you."

Matt nodded, returning the embrace, unable to shake the feeling that he had – in a sense – just lied to her. The black-haired beauty was like a mother to him, always looking out for him a little more than the other members of the staff, a little more than she was paid to take care of her students. However, unable to do anything else, she stayed silent and simply smiled. Ruffling Matt's hair slightly, she took him up by the arm and led him to the door.

"Take the rest of the day off," she instructed. "I know you'll need it."

And so he did.

- -

"Have you been watching the news lately?"

Matt nodded. For the past few weeks, deaths had been occurring in maximum-security prison cells that were out of the norm, each of the suicide or accidental homicide victims left a message . There was a new threat to the Justice system, a person who the public and media dubbed 'Killer'. The Japanese called him 'Kira'.

It had been three days since he'd found L's most recent hiding place and several weeks since he'd first met the detective, so that was certainly a dumb question. If L wasn't watching the news, then he wouldn't have anything to do, and then he wouldn't be able to fund the orphanage, so then Matt wouldn't have a place to live.

He marveled at his own stupidity sometimes.

"I want to talk to you about the deaths in the prisons." L plucked a fruit out of the bowl of golden cherries he was currently eating and plopped it into his mouth. "I have been requested repeatedly now to join the investigation and I would like you opinion on the matter: should I accept or decline?"

Matt laughed humorlessly, shaking his head in mild disbelief. "It doesn't matter what I say; you've already chosen." He sighed and sat down cross-legged on the floor.

"Smart boy," L smiled whimsically. "But…"

"I'm honored you asked," the redhead finished for him. "So when are you leaving?"

The panda-like man stuck his tongue out and plucked a tied cherry stem from the orifice. "I was hoping you could help me decide."

"Maybe you should just go as soon as you can. The Killer case sounds like something only you could take care of."

L smiled and hugged his knees close to his chest. "Your subtle flattery is amusing and much appreciated."

He sprawled across the floor, his shirt riding up slightly so that his stomach itched against the carpet. From his angle, he could see the older man's strangely slender toes and bony knees jutting out from beneath the thick fabric of his jeans. Matt could never stop staring at the way L's body was constructed. It was like Mello's God or some sort had constructed him to be the epitome of all things gangly, anti-social, and endearing.

'Endearing.'

Matt didn't know what to think of it.

- -

As the weeks progressed, Matt steadily declined in his social skills. Not only did Sapientia stop scolding him about his behavior and start babying him, but other teachers began showing signs of concern as well. Did no one know of his relation to L? Did no one even know that the Panda Man was inside the school now? Was Roger the only one of the staff members who even knew or cared?

Matt lay on his bed, tapping away at another game in his hands. L had gotten him a new gift, _Lost in Blue_, and Matt could not stop playing. Somewhere in his subconscious, he felt like he was stuck on some sort of godforsaken island as well. Except, unlike the game in his hands, his partner on the island was finding a way off and hadn't bothered to tell Matt he was leaving.

The redhead buried his face into his pillow and sighed, his breath warming the spot in front of his face. The gathering of moisture in the cloth was soothing, somehow.

It was on these nights that the tears were relentless.

He could've sworn that two nights before, Near had even cried with him probably without knowing the reason why. He was just that pitiful.

- -

Two weeks later and the time had arrived.

Matt had found the detective back in the room where they had first met. The redhead's clothes were no longer covered in dust when he entered, and the blue-tinted lighting from the stained glass clock was now dyed a purple from the crimson-kissed sunlight. And this time, sitting on the bed next to Matt with his gaze aimed out toward the field of children playing, L was not a stranger, but a friend.

A best friend ready to leave him.

"This is goodbye, Mail."

The detective stood up, his hair bobbing gently as he turned away from Matt and began to make his way toward the opening in the wall. However, Matt reached forward and pulled the detective back down, his fists clenching into the fabric of both the bed sheets and L's white shirt.

"No!" he cried, a pain tightening in his navel and curling around his gentle, sentient self like a stifling vice. A swelling, yet clenching feeling overcame him as he collapsed against the chest of the man beside him on the bed. He grasped into the brunet's shirt and fisted the cloth in his trembling hands. L tumbled backward and fell into the mattress, the young redheaded teen clutching to his chest like it was his only lifeline to sanity.

"No… no, no… don't…" Matt sniffed and whispered, "Please, don't leave…"

_Don't leave me…_ he thought just as desperately.

"Matt," L wrapped his arms tighter around the shaking body, "I have to. Kira-"

"Fuck Kira!" the boy suddenly yelled. The tears began spilling over in his eyes coloring them like weeping stars. "I just… I can't-"

Then his sobbing halted abruptly. Before he could register what had happened, Matt found his lips pressed hard against L's, moving and molding against the sugar-infected pink skin repeatedly.

_Am I kissing him?_

L was unresponsive, but didn't pull away, so Matt continued, pressing and releasing until he felt ridiculous for even trying so in the first place. Doubt, guilt, and regret pierced his chest like a lance through a faulty wooden practice shield, forcing his mind to race at the possible motives and outcomes that revolved around such an action. Panic pounded in quick beats against his skin and his mind spiraled.

_Why? Why… why, why, why why whywhywhy**why**?_

His thoughts stopped when he felt the gentle pressure of those sugar coated lips pressed back against his as his more than best friend had kissed back.

"I should not have done that," L apologized, his mouth still brushing against the younger male's as he spoke.

"It's too late to take it back now," Matt sighed against the soft skin, pressing in once more before he was pushed back for gently forceful hands.

"It does not change that fact that I am sorry." L stood up and made a beeline for the exit. "Goodbye, Mail Jeevas."

He watched the man's retreating form, committing to memory the exact way the raven-haired, unconventional beauty was able to move with an indefinable grace. He took note of the slight faded wear on the seat of the man's jeans, the way his wide-collared shirts always slid to one side of his body to expose one shoulder more than another.

"Goodbye, Panda." Matt managed out in a whisper. L stopped at the concrete archway and placed his hand on the rim of the exit.

"Call me 'Lawliet'."

The next day, he was gone.

* * *

Okay, so the chapter is hopelessly short. I didn't want to subject you guys to too much idiot rambling, so here it is! Also, I'm sorry about the crazy long hiatus. Hopefully I'll have this story back up and running again by the end of the summer, right?

Thanks for stucking with this story, even through my lack of activity and the fact that it's less than half the length of the last one. :)

_Bisous, Minikimii_

P.S. Now the plot can really get moving!


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